


Persistence

by loeysxdaisies



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, BaekYeol - Freeform, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Social Anxiety, baekyeol college, happy ending for baekyeol yay!, light light smut, like barely there in comparison with my other stuff smut, little angst, pianist!Baekhyun, probably super cliche I tried, squint for hunhan, squint harder for kaisoo, tattoo artist!Chanyeol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-06-09 00:40:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 30,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15255603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loeysxdaisies/pseuds/loeysxdaisies
Summary: Baekhyun is a pianist with social anxiety who befriends a social butterfly/tattoo artist down the hall—but how does he feel? More importantly, how does Chanyeol feel?Or the au in which Baekhyun is awkward and nervous, Chanyeol manages to like him despite that, and Jongdae just really, really wants them to get together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> as with all my other college!au stuff, I have no excuse for whatever this is. but just know I'm a sucker for this au and this is a good basic one, so I may write some short drabbles and stuff about more of their college experience if I ever get around to it? I keep saying that, and yet, I manage to finish N O T H I N G :) 
> 
> sorry for the rant lol
> 
> so this one is based on another one of my personal issues (a lot like the labels one was). again, I identify kind of with Baekhyun in this. I find it really easy to write these stories based on my own experiences and feelings because it kind of gives me a way to work through them and get them out of my head and onto paper (computer-whatever).
> 
> rant pt 2 over I promise
> 
> anyway, I hope you enjoy this!!

_Kyungsoo’s a sweet kid—really._ Baekhyun tried to remind himself of the time his neighbor had generously helped him print a 20-page research paper two weeks ago as he listened to music blasting from the apartment next door.

He rolled over in bed and eyed the clock. _Who the hell has a party at 1 am on a Tuesday?_

Baekhyun groaned and rolled over, trying to burrow his head under his pillow in a lame attempt to block out the music. Sadly, there was nothing he could do about the thin walls _or_  the fact that his bedroom shared a wall with Kyungsoo’s living room. And of course, there was no way he could get up and actually go talk to him—it was the middle of the night. What would Kyungsoo think of him? That was just rude, but then again the music was rude too, so did it all just cancel out?

“That’s it.” Social anxiety be damned. Baekhyun sat up in bed when he heard the bass of the music double in volume so that the few frames scattered on his wall rattled. He pulled on the sweatpants he’d dumped on the floor by his bed—he preferred sleeping in his boxers and a t-shirt—and pulled on a sweatshirt as he shoved his feet in a pair of sneakers by the door. He pocketed his phone and stormed into the hallway towards Kyungsoo’s door.

Baekhyun paused abruptly when he saw someone already there.

“Can’t sleep?” A tall, red-haired guy turned to look at him, his raised hand lowering and it was obvious that Baekhyun had approached right as he’d been about to knock.

“No. It’s right on the other side of my bedroom wall.” Baekhyun shook his head. “You?”

“You’ve got it rough.” The guy—Park Chanyeol, Baekhyun recalled from last semester’s chemistry class—jutted his thumb down the hall in the opposite direction of Baekhyun’s apartment. “I’m three doors down. It’s still bad, though.”

“Did you just get home?” Baekhyun couldn’t help but notice the difference in their appearances. While Baekhyun definitely looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, Chanyeol was still dressed from the day in dark jeans, a black hoodie, and a light denim jacket.

“Yeah.” Baekhyun’s eyes locked on where a few tattooed tendrils were visible along the side of Chanyeol’s neck above his hoodie. “Work. I didn’t even have time to grab something to eat before I got annoyed.”

“Right.”

Chanyeol bit his bottom lip and raised a hand shyly to rub at the back of his neck, hiding the tattoos from Baekhyun’s sight.

“Anyway.” He cleared his throat. “I’m going to knock on the door and politely ask them to keep it down. Would you like to stick around, you know, for moral support? I’ll take whatever I can get.” Chanyeol flashed him a bright grin, which Baekhyun decided was way too happy for how late it was.

Baekhyun took a couple steps closer to the giant, his hands shoved in the pockets of his pants as he nodded. Chanyeol knocked.

He paused for a second, then knocked again.

“What should we—”

“Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun pushed past Chanyeol and pounded on the door with his fist, his social anxiety at the back of his mind and replaced by the hope of more sleep. “Open the damn door!”

A tall, dark figure decked out in leather who was definitely _not_ Kyungsoo pulled open the door instead of their short neighbor. “Can I help you?”

“What—who are—where’s Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun sputtered, his hand dropping as he took a step back.

“What’s it to you?” The new guy leaned against the doorframe and eyed Baekhyun up and down, essentially undressing him with his eyes and succeeding in making him very, _very_ uncomfortable. Baekhyun’s breath hitched, and he took another step back.

“We’re his neighbors,” Chanyeol spoke up, resting a gentle hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder and pulling him back from the door, stepping up to take his place. “We just wanted to see if you could keep the music down, it’s late, and most of us have class tomorrow.”

“Jongin, who is it?” Kyungsoo poked his head around the stranger’s body, his eyes raking over his neighbors before they lit up with recognition. “Oh, hello there! What brings you by?”

“Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun smiled tiredly. “I understand appreciating music, if anyone does it’s me, but do you have to do it so loudly, and so late? I have an extra two-hour lesson tomorrow morning and I have to be on campus at six to warm up. Please, _please_ keep it down so I can sleep.”

“Oh, sorry Baekhyun, I didn’t realize that it was that loud.” Kyungsoo smiled apologetically. “We can turn it down a bit for you.”

Baekhyun eyed the beer clutched in his small hands, debating asking him why exactly he was drinking on a Monday night, or Tuesday morning, technically, but ultimately decided it wasn’t any of his business and that he was much too tired to deal with whatever his neighbor chose to drink and when.

“Thank you.” Baekhyun nodded his head and turned to walk back down the hallway, the only destination in his mind being his bed. He fished in his pocket for his keys, freezing when his hands came up with his phone and  _not_ his keys.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Baekhyun kicked his door, the sound echoing down the hallway now that Kyungsoo had turned the music down enough for him to hear his own thoughts again, not that he wanted to anymore. “Fuck!”

“Everything okay down there?” Chanyeol called from where he had been about to enter his own apartment.

“I am a complete, utter dumbass, who forgot to grab his keys.” Baekhyun collapsed against the wall, his forehead hitting it with a resounding _clunk_.

“Oh, that’s rough.” Chanyeol looked at the small male who looked like he was two thoughts away from throwing himself out of the fourth-floor window at the end of the hall. “And the landlord’s office doesn’t open until 5.”

“Why am I an idiot.” Baekhyun moaned, his hands coming up to fist in his hair. “Why today, of all days.”

“Do you have a roommate?”

“No.”

“You can come over if you want.” Baekhyun hadn’t heard Chanyeol walk towards him, he’d been too busy wallowing in his own self-pity. “I _do_ , in fact, have my keys and an extra pull-out mattress that’s yours if you want it.”

“I’m in no position to say no, but I will ask if you’re sure? You don’t really know me, and you’re going to invite me to stay the night anyway?” Baekhyun turned his head to eye the redhead who was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.

“I know you were in my chem lecture last semester, which means you’re around my age. You’re shorter than me, so you probably can’t do much damage, but if you tried it’s not like I couldn’t hold my own against you. Besides, can’t I just be a nice guy helping out a neighbor?” Chanyeol pushed off of the wall, clapping a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder and standing him upright. “Come on, shorty.”

“For your information, I am in the average height frame for Korean males.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes as he allowed Chanyeol to lead him down the hall. “And I have a name. It’s—”

“Baekhyun, yeah, I know. Chem, remember? I was a couple rows behind you, same section.”

“There were a hundred people in that lecture. How do you possibly know my name?”

Chanyeol shrugged and shoved his hand in his pocket to dig his keys out. “I sat next to Jongdae, who talks a lot.”

“Asshole.” Baekhyun huffed. He couldn’t help but feel bad for him after being stuck next to the loud vocal major for a full semester. “I’m sorry you had to deal with him.”

“He wasn’t horrible, once you got past the off-key humming.” Baekhyun let out a snort as Chanyeol unlocked his door, ushering Baekhyun in under his arm. Yes, Baekhyun fit _under his arm_.

Baekhyun hesitated just inside the door as he toed out of his sneakers and glanced around the apartment. The living room was nice, all dark colors with a couch, a tv, a couple side tables, and a few posters tacked on the wall. The kitchen was clean, and Baekhyun couldn’t help but wonder if the redhead’s bedroom was as clean as the rest of the place.

“You can take my bed if you want, I can sleep on the couch.” Chanyeol pushed past him and began walking down the hallway.

“No, that’s fine. I can take the couch.” Baekhyun followed Chanyeol without thinking about it. “Just grab me a blanket and I can make due—”

Baekhyun stopped in the doorway of what must have been Chanyeol’s bedroom where the door was open. And Chanyeol was shirtless.

“No, seriously, it’s fine.” The redhead kept talking like it was all completely natural, like Baekhyun wasn’t having a problem downstairs at the sight of all Chanyeol’s inked skin. That was _hot_.

Chanyeol dumped his hoodie on the floor and began digging through a chest of drawers on the wall, his tattooed torso on full display. “You’re my guest, technically speaking, and my mom would kill me if I made you sleep on the couch.”

“I’m shorter, as you so eagerly pointed out.” Baekhyun fought back. “It’s only fair that I sleep on the couch since it’s smaller than your bed.”

“Not a chance, short stuff.” Chanyeol shook his head, tossing a pair of boxers and sweatpants on the bed. “I have all my stuff, you curl up and I’m going to grab a shower and pass out on the couch.”

“Chanyeol—”

“Baekhyun, seriously, take my bed. I’ll be okay for _one_ night.”

Baekhyun eyed Chanyeol warily, sighing. “Fine.” He made sure to keep his eyes on Chanyeol’s face, refusing to look down and purposely ignoring the fact that Chanyeol was _ripped_ , holy shit.

Chanyeol broke out in another dazzling smile. “Awesome. Anyway, I’m going to grab a shower now. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Sure, yeah.” Baekhyun sat down gently on the edge of the bed, rolling over as he watched Chanyeol’s inked back retreat down the hall and disappear in the bathroom.

“Idiot.” Baekhyun stood up off the bed once he heard the shower start and grabbed a spare blanket off the edge and an extra pillow. He walked quietly down the hallway and threw his stuff on the couch, curling up and making himself comfortable.

The couch wasn’t uncomfortable, and Baekhyun fell asleep before Chanyeol was out of the shower.

He never felt a strong pair of arms lift him off the couch and carry him back down the hallway, he never felt them tuck him into the bed gently, and he never heard the deep rumble of “goodnight, Baekhyun.”

 

* * *

 

Baekhyun shot a look up at his statistics professor, who was still eagerly explaining hypotheses on the board as he slipped his phone out of his pocket. It had vibrated, indicating an incoming text, and Baekhyun would rather deal with whatever shit his friends were going to bug him about than pay attention.

 **From: Unknown:** _Hey short stuff_.

 **To: Unknown** : _I am not short._

 **To: Unknown** : _How did you get my number?_

Baekhyun adjusted his workbook so it hid his phone and watched the little bubble that showed that Chanyeol was typing, adding him to his contacts.

 **From: Chanyeol:** _I harassed Jongdae. He owes me for like 7 copied chem chapters, I’m cashing them in._

Baekhyun snorted.

 **To: Chanyeol** : _Of course you are. What do you want?_

 **From: Chanyeol:** _I just wondered if you’d made it to your lesson on time?_

Baekhyun shot a look up at the front to see if his professor had noticed him on his phone yet, biting down a smile.

 **To: Chanyeol** : _I did, thanks to you._

 **From: Chanyeol:** _What did I do?_

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and set his pen down.

 **To: Chanyeol** : _You let me stay the night. If I hadn’t gotten the sleep I did then I definitely would’ve been late._

 **From: Chanyeol:** _And did sleeping in my bed instead of on the couch help?_

 **To: Chanyeol** : _You weren’t supposed to move me to your bed._

 **To: Chanyeol** : _And no._

Baekhyun tried not to think about his failed lesson that morning. His fingers had been uneven, his tempos were all over the place, and his competition piece was pure shit. His teacher had spent 20 minutes at the end lecturing Baekhyun about practicing and being prepared, though Baekhyun hadn’t really been listening as his thoughts were invaded by a built, tattooed torso and bright red hair the whole two hours. The panic had set in after he’d left his professor’s office, when he realized how close his jury performance was, and he’d had to take a break in the bathroom to calm down before he ran to his locker.

 **From: Chanyeol:** _Yikes._

 **To: Chanyeol** : _Yikes indeed._

 **From: Chanyeol:** _Do you want to talk about it?_

 **To: Chanyeol** : _Not particularly, I’m more interested in getting you a coffee to thank you for last night._

 **From: Chanyeol:** _I’ll take you up on that._

Baekhyun glanced up at the clock in the front of the room.

 **To: Chanyeol** : _I get out of class in 30._

 **From: Chanyeol:** _Lucky for you, I’m camped out at Grounded for the day working on a paper, and I’ll be ready for a refill in approximately 30 minutes._

 **To: Chanyeol** : _It’s meant to be._

 **From: Chanyeol:** _Now pay attention, short stuff, you can fantasize about my coffee later._

The remaining half hour seemed to take so much longer now that he actually had something to look forward to once he got out, the second hand dragging along slower than the speed of his professor’s speech. Finally, 2:30 struck, their professor dismissed them with promises of a quiz next class, and Baekhyun was out the door.

Grounded was a small coffee shop just off campus, and everyone loved it. It was full of mismatched furniture and homemade brews, with concerts by local bands every Friday night. It was no wonder Chanyeol was hanging there, it seemed like just his scene.

The walk from the math building only took ten minutes, and Baekhyun spotted Chanyeol easily as soon as he walked in the door.

True to his word, Chanyeol was sitting in a far corner of the coffee shop, laptop on, book open, tattoos on full display, and a presumably empty coffee cup pushed to the side. Baekhyun paused and watched as he flipped through a few pages and propped his phone on the binding to start typing again, glancing at the open book every few words. Chanyeol was wearing a t-shirt with his black ripped skinny jeans, the denim jacket from last night draped over the back of his chair.

Baekhyun’s eyes followed the thick black ink from Chanyeol’s forearms and up under his shirt, peeking out above the neckline with one tendril curling up behind his ear. Chanyeol chose that moment to turn his head, catching Baekhyun’s eye and raising an eyebrow. _Shit_. Busted.

Baekhyun bit his lip sheepishly as he looked down and made his way over to Chanyeol’s table.

“You good, short stuff?” Chanyeol asked as Baekhyun approached, returning to his book. “Did you forget what I look like already?”

“For the last time, I’m an average height for a 20-year old Korean male.” Baekhyun huffed, setting his backpack down by the empty chair across from the redhead. “Do you need a refill?”

“Please.” Chanyeol grabbed his empty mug and held it out to Baekhyun. “It was a cowboy with an extra shot.”

“Gotcha.” Baekhyun took the mug and walked to stand in the short line, just behind Kim Junmyeon, violin performance major and the concertmaster for the university’s orchestra. The two struck up a nice conversation about the end of semester juries while they waited in line, time passing quickly. Baekhyun glanced back at the table a few times and caught Chanyeol looking at him, switching back to his computer whenever Baekhyun would catch his eye.

“You good?” Baekhyun mocked him when he walked back to the table with two coffees in his hand—Chanyeol’s cowboy with an extra shot and his latte with three extra shots.

“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to drop them.” Chanyeol covered easily. “You’re so short it’s hard for people to see you, it would be very easy to run you over.”

“You’re a dick.”

Chanyeol simply shrugged and took a drink of his coffee. “I’ve heard that a lot.”

“Figures.”

“You’re such a nice guy, really.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes and shut his book. “What’s up with you today?”

“How do you know this isn’t what I’m normally like?” Baekhyun cocked his head and met Chanyeol’s gaze.

He smirked. “You were nicer to Kyungsoo at one in the morning telling him to turn his music off than you are to me right now. Does this have anything to do with your lesson this morning?”

“So what if it does?” Baekhyun hid behind his coffee cup as he took another drink. “It’s none of your business.”

“True. But I’m a nice guy, and I’ve been told I’m a good listener. If you want to talk about it—”

“Well, I don’t, okay? So just drop it. Please.”

“Whatever, man.” Chanyeol shrugged and leaned back in his chair, watching Baekhyun’s fingers drum anxiously on the table.

“My jury’s in under a month,” Baekhyun spoke up after a few minutes of silence. “And I can’t get through the middle technical passage. My etudes were both shit, and I haven’t held a steady tempo in a week. I fumbled over all my harmonic scales. My teacher yelled at me for half my lesson. And on top of that, I’m accompanying three flute players from the top studio and I’m so behind on learning those pieces it’s embarrassing and _their_ professor is going to be furious. So yeah, you could say I’m a little stressed.”

“A little?”

“Shut up,” Baekhyun whined, and Chanyeol grinned.

“What instrument is it that has you so stressed out?”

“Piano. I’m a performance major.”

Chanyeol nodded thoughtfully. “You have the fingers for it.”

“Excuse me?” Baekhyun set his mug down. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Give me your hand.” Baekhyun held out his arm and Chanyeol took it. He laid it palm up in his own hand, thick fingers ghosting over Baekhyun smooth skin. “Your fingers are long. Smooth.” He flipped Baekhyun’s hand over and held his wrist. “Your nails are short and manicured like a pianist’s. They’re tense too, holy shit.”

“That happens.” Baekhyun watched Chanyeol as he continued to hold Baekhyun’s hand. “All I do is use my hands, they’re always super tense and they can get kind of shaky when I play for too long.”

“Do you do anything about it?”

“What? No.” Baekhyun held back a whine when Chanyeol let go and reached in his backpack. “What are you doing?”

Chanyeol set a small bottle of lotion on the table. “I happen to be a skilled masseuse. Give me your hand back.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No. Come on.” Baekhyun held his hand out again as Chanyeol put a little lotion in his hands, rubbed them together, and began gently massaging Baekhyun’s own hand.

“Oh, wow.” Baekhyun relaxed in his chair as Chanyeol maneuvered his hand around each of Baekhyun’s fingers, circling his thumb around each knuckle and smoothing them out. “How are you so good at this?”

“We talked about hands, right? I use mine a lot.” Baekhyun tried to ignore the double entendre he wasn’t sure if Chanyeol made on purpose or not. “I work part-time at the tattoo place over by Romano’s. I do more relaxing and massaging than I’d care to admit, but sometimes it comes in handy.” Chanyeol shot Baekhyun a shy smile before returning his attention to his hand. “I got pretty good pretty fast.”

“That’s a bit cocky of you, isn’t it?” Baekhyun watched the tattoos on Chanyeol’s arm move as his muscles clenched below the skin, his fingers still rubbing along Baekhyun’s hand.

“I don’t hear you complaining, Mozart. Give me your other hand.” Chanyeol put more lotion in his hands while Baekhyun held his other hand out, staring at the hand that Chanyeol had just finished. “You’re unbelievably tense, you seriously need to relax. Start lotioning at night before bed, it’ll help. Lavender is really relaxing, it’ll calm all your senses if you use it. Or chamomile. Chamomile’s my personal favorite, but it can be kind of hard to find.”

“How do you do that, oh my god.” Baekhyun clenched his fist and was pleasantly surprised—his hand felt so _relaxed_ , he wasn’t sure when the last time was he’d felt that de-stressed. “That’s amazing.”

“When people get tattoos and they’re tense, it makes it less enjoyable, so I just keep lotion in my room and help people calm down before we start. It gets me some pretty good tips most of the time.”

“How long have you been working there?” Baekhyun asked, leaning on his free arm on the table.

“I started a month before the semester started.” Chanyeol was focused on Baekhyun’s hand completely and missed how intently the pianist was staring at him, watching him concentrate. “I’ve always liked drawing, and I got my first tattoo when I turned 18 with a friend of mine on a dare.”

“You have more than one.” Baekhyun pointed out, and Chanyeol chuckled.

“How observant of you.” He placed Baekhyun’s hand on the table and put his lotion back in his backpack. “They’re pretty addictive. Plus, I think they’re cool—I designed a bunch of them myself. It’s like a little part of me that everyone can see, isn’t that so neat?”

“Fascinating.” Baekhyun nodded with a smile. “Did they hurt? When you got them, I mean?”

“Kind of. Why, do you want one?” Chanyeol cocked his eyebrow and smirked.

“I never said that.” Baekhyun defended quickly. “I’m just curious, is all.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Seriously.”

“Whatever you say, Beethoven.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “You’re the worst.”

“And yet, you’re still here sitting with me.” Chanyeol shrugged, opening his book once again.

“Not anymore.” Baekhyun stood up and shouldered his backpack. “I’ve paid off my debt. You have your coffee, I’ll be on my way. Thanks for the massage, Mr. Artist.”

“I’ll see you around, Chopin. Don’t stress, it’ll all work out and you’re going to be some world-class performer one day, and your professor will feel like shit about that one time he yelled at you.”

“Seriously, shut up.”

 

* * *

 

Baekhyun next ran into Chanyeol outside the central library, when he had been on his way to a late lunch and the giant had been conversing with an equally tattooed friend of his outside.

The pianist panicked for a second when Chanyeol’s eyes landed on him, freezing before offering what he hoped was a nonchalant head nod in his direction. He wasn’t sure if they knew each other enough to acknowledge the other’s presence in public. Chanyeol shot him a grin of his own before clapping a hand on his friend’s shoulder, nodding, and walking towards where Baekhyun was making his way down the concrete steps.

“Hey, Mozart!” Chanyeol called as he jogged towards the stairs. Baekhyun looked around, ducking his head at the attention Chanyeol had called to him and turned around as the redhead skipped down the first few steps.

“Hey, Chanyeol. What’s up.” He adjusted the straps on his heavy backpack.

“I didn’t expect to see you so soon after our last encounter.” Chanyeol smiled, falling in step with Baekhyun as he continued down the stairs. It had been two days since they’d met up at the coffee shop, and though Baekhyun would never admit it, he found himself looking at Chanyeol’s apartment door whenever he walked by, wondering if the mysterious tattoo artist and masseuse extraordinaire was in or not. Was he supposed to say that out loud?

“I’m in my apartment or on campus.” Baekhyun chose to answer, shrugging. “You’re just not looking hard enough.”

“I’ve been busy.” Chanyeol pointed out. “Everyone is. This is college, you’re supposed to be busy in, pause for dramatic effect, _college._ ”

“You’re annoying.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He turned left at the base of the stairs to start walking in the direction of the nearest dining hall.

“Thank you, Beethoven. I’ll be here all week. Well, longer than that. I have, what, seven months left on my lease?” Chanyeol followed Baekhyun once he turned.

“Wonderful.” Baekhyun deadpanned. “I’m glad you enlightened me with that vital information about _your_ lease.”

“You’re welcome. Anyway,” he cleared his throat, “I just wanted to check in, see how you’re doing?”

“What? I’m fine.” Baekhyun turned to look up at Chanyeol. “Why do you ask?”

“You just seem like you have a lot on your plate, is all.” Chanyeol kept his eyes on the sidewalk. “How are you doing?”

“I’m…okay. I’m not quite as stressed as I was, my technical passages are coming along. They’re not great, but they’re better.”

“Good.” Chanyeol smiled. “Where are you off to now?”

“Morrison. I’ve been in the practice room all morning, and I’m starving.” Baekhyun answered without thinking of the _possible consequences_.

“Oh, can I join? I was just heading over there myself when I ran into Kris, and he needed to ask me about a sample proposal we have due in our business class in a few weeks.”

Baekhyun gawked. How could he have asked that so easily? Sure, he was just asking about eating together, but still. He was actually jealous, it would’ve taken Baekhyun 20 minutes, at least, to determine if it was even _okay_ and then ten more to find a good way to slip it into the conversation. But Chanyeol did it, just like that—huh. Was it really that easy?

“Hey, earth to Baekhyun? If you don’t want me to come it won’t hurt my feelings.” Chanyeol stopped walking, pulling Baekhyun to a stop as well.

“No! No, you can come. Sorry, I’m just not great with people or with reading signals and I was just surprised since I usually eat on my own, but you can definitely come to lunch with me. If you want. Yeah.” Baekhyun forced out in one breath, looking up to see Chanyeol with an amused expression on his face.

“Alright then, Beethoven, I’m joining you. And you can’t take it back now, you already said I could, Mr. ‘I’m not good with people.’ Consider me your official lunch partner.” Chanyeol smiled brightly as he threw an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders. “I’m going to get you some serious social interaction.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Michelangelo. Now, what was that you said about a business proposal?”

 

* * *

 

Chanyeol, as it turned out, took his duty as Baekhyun’s self-proclaimed lunch partner _very_ seriously. The two met every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday their schedules allowed for lunch, every Tuesday for a late dinner and every Thursday for breakfast. Over the course of a week, Baekhyun had learned all kinds of things about Chanyeol, what he wanted to do with his business degree when he graduated (start his own tattoo parlor and maybe produce some music on the side with the help of a music minor), where he was from (only an hour away from where Baekhyun grew up, forcing him to promise to meet up during school holidays), and how many instruments he played (3, plus singing and rapping). Baekhyun had no idea how it had happened.

Chanyeol had managed to worm his way into Baekhyun’s daily routine. Two weeks ago he’d hardly known the guy, and now he felt weird if he didn’t see the giant redhead once a day. Meals became something he’d begun looking forward to, and somehow, they seemed like more than just chores when he had someone to share them with.

Chanyeol had really gotten him out of his shell, something even Luhan, a childhood friend who was now involved in a fraternity, a man who lived off social interaction, had failed to accomplish.

Baekhyun continued to surprise himself when _he_ was the first to text Chanyeol a couple weeks after they’d started their strange arrangement.

 **To: Chanyeol** : _Rehearsal got canceled. Want to grab dinner?_

The response was instantaneous.

 **From: Chanyeol** _I’ll meet you at the parking garage in 10._

The pair had ended up going to an actual restaurant for their meal, since it was a Friday and most dining halls closed earlier than usual. Chanyeol proved to be a safe driver and held easy conversation, soothing Baekhyun’s nerves at inviting his newfound friend to meet outside of their unofficial schedule.

Dinner that night had been the most fun Baekhyun had had in what felt like forever, and he couldn’t help but feel slightly upset when Chanyeol had pulled back into the parking garage outside of their apartment complex. The friendly conversation had continued up the elevator, Chanyeol going so far as to bypass his own door to walk Baekhyun to his.

He’d leaned on his arm on the doorframe, towering over the pianist as Baekhyun unlocked his front door and turned up to smile at him. Baekhyun couldn’t help but feel that the position was strangely intimate, even though he had no reason to think that Chanyeol looked at him as anything more than friends. _Right?_

Then again, poor Baekhyun was too oblivious to pay attention to the softness of Chanyeol’s smile or the fondness in his eyes as he said goodnight to his _friend_ and walked cheerily back towards his own apartment.

 

* * *

 

Baekhyun legitimately hated Jongdae. The loudmouthed vocal major was singing very, _very_ loudly and very off-key with the radio, and Baekhyun was one voice crack away from throwing himself out of the window and onto the highway.

“Do you ever shut up?”

“No!” Jongdae sang in time with the music, and Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

“You’re an idiot.”

“Probably.”

“No, not probably. _You’re an idiot_ , now where are we going?” Baekhyun watched as he drove them past his apartment building, heading in the opposite direction of campus.

“I took you to the music place to get your books, now you have to come with me somewhere.”

“Where?”

Jongdae hummed. “Why should I tell you?”

“If you don’t I’ll go to the cops about an attempted kidnapping.”

“You got in the car of your own free will. Try taking me to court, you know I won’t get charged. You did this to yourself.”

“Where the fuck are we going.” Baekhyun shoved Jongdae’s shoulder, eliciting a high-pitched scream from the driver. “I need to practice.”

“We’re music majors, we always need to practice.” Jongdae deadpanned. “But we don’t.”

“ _You_ don’t, I do. Seriously, Jongdae, I don’t have time for this.” Baekhyun sighed.

“I need a new tattoo.” Jongdae drummed his hands on the steering wheel. “And you, my antisocial friend, are coming with me.”

“Why?” Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Do you need someone to hold your hand again?”

“That was one time!” Jongdae swatted at Baekhyun’s arm, missing horribly and socking him in the jaw instead. “No, I just want you to relax. You’re too stressed, I’m worried you’re going to combust and then you won’t be able to play for my audition this summer.”

“And here I thought you actually cared about me.” Baekhyun rubbed his sore jaw and tried to chase away memories of his and Chanyeol’s conversation about stress a few weeks ago. The giant hadn’t really brought it up again, but Baekhyun could tell that he was paying attention in his insistent texts making sure Baekhyun ate, and that one time he’d driven back to campus at 1:30 in the morning to drive Baekhyun back to their apartment, literally dragging him out of the practice room. Baekhyun had nearly burst into tears then and, instead of going back to home like he’d planned, Chanyeol drove them to the nearby 24-hour diner and got them both ice cream. Baekhyun had been so out of it he hadn’t even been able to fight Chanyeol on splitting the bill, and the two had stayed up watching some stupid movie on Chanyeol’s laptop until Baekhyun had calmed down.

“I do. Which is why I’m not letting you back near campus until I finish getting my tattoo.” Jongdae turned into a parking lot next to an Italian restaurant that was pretty popular among the kids on campus. “Come on, maestro.”

“I hate you.” Baekhyun slammed his car door and shoved his hands deep in his hoodie pocket, shivering. It was cool, and even though the walk from the car to the front door of the parlor was short it was enough to give Baekhyun goosebumps.

Jongdae was greeted with smiles when he pushed open the door to the parlor, given that he was a regular. _Why_ he was a regular at a tattoo parlor, Baekhyun didn’t want to know. He looked around and noticed a lot of people, and his hands started sweating. Baekhyun began absentmindedly rolling his bracelet in his hand and along his wrist, trying to focus on the beads rolling smoothly over his skin and not the overwhelming number of people in the lobby.

“Jongdae! What are you in for today, my man?” A heavily tattooed guy who intimidated Baekhyun quite a bit approached the pair, and Baekhyun slinked over to the wall as Jongdae struck up a conversation about wanting a tree on the inside of his left forearm. Baekhyun busied himself with looking at the largely framed designs hung up around the room, each one signed by a different artist. He got caught in front of Chanyeol’s drawing, two octopi with their tentacles intertwined. Albeit a bit strange, it was interesting, and it showcased Chanyeol’s talents well. He _was_ pretty good.

“Baekhyun?” Baekhyun turned to see the artist himself walking out from a hallway with another guy. He offered the redhead a timid wave as Chanyeol signaled for him to wait there and continued talking to the client who’d followed him out, shaking his hand and directing him towards the front desk.

Chanyeol shouldered past a few other people in the main lobby and made his way towards the pianist who looked so awkwardly out of place it almost hurt.

“What are you doing here?” Chanyeol asked, watching Baekhyun’s hands which were fidgeting nervously in front of him.

“Jongdae wanted another tattoo.” He jutted his chin towards Jongdae who was still talking to the guy from earlier. “I got dragged along.”

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol stepped in front of Baekhyun, shielding his view from most of the lobby in an attempt to get him to calm down.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. There’s just a lot of people here and I’ve never been to a tattoo parlor before and I have a theory test tomorrow that I should be studying for and—”

“Whoa, Liszt, slow down.” Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s hands and began rubbing his thumbs over his wrists as he tried to get the poor pianist to relax. “Don’t forget to breathe, it’s a key part of sustaining life. Plus, oxygen’s free, so you may as well take advantage of that, right?”

Baekhyun snorted. “Sure, van Gogh. Whatever you say.”

“Hey, Baek, I’m going to run back with—whoa, what’s up with you?” Jongdae approached the two and stared at Baekhyun, who had gone very pale in the time he’d been away. “Baekhyun?”

“I’m fine, Jongdae. There’s just a lot of people here, that’s all.”

“Shit, I know, I wasn’t expecting this crowd on a Thursday night. We can go if you want?”

“No, you’re already here. Just get your tattoo so you won’t have to come back later.” Baekhyun shook his head. Jongdae hesitated. “Seriously, go.”

“Do you want to come back with me?” Jongdae asked, taking a step back towards the hallway which led to the private rooms.

Chanyeol watched Baekhyun’s eyes flicker uncertainly to the artist Jongdae had been talking with a minute ago. “No, he can stay with me.”

“What?” Baekhyun and Jongdae looked at Chanyeol, their eyes wide. Chanyeol nodded.

“I don’t have another appointment for tonight, and there should be plenty of others available for walk-ins. We can go hang in my room while Bruiser takes care of your tree.”

Jongdae’s eyes landed on where Chanyeol was still holding Baekhyun wrists and rubbing along them comfortingly.

“Baek?”

“Yeah, that works.” Baekhyun looked at Jongdae and nodded. “Go.”

“I’ll text you when I’m done.” Jongdae turned and followed Bruiser down the hallway, and Baekhyun let out a sigh.

“Come on then, Bach.” Chanyeol released one of Baekhyun’s wrists and let his hand drop to intertwine their fingers as he led the pianist down the same hallway Jongdae had disappeared in a few seconds before. Baekhyun looked down at their hands, letting out a deep breath as he allowed himself to absorb the comfort Chanyeol’s large, warm hands provided. The redhead pulled Baekhyun past a few doors, pausing outside an open door at the end on the left and letting Baekhyun walk in first.

“Do you have a water bottle or something? If not, I can get you one—”

“No!” Baekhyun reached out and snagged the edge of Chanyeol’s flannel when he began turning away from the door. “I-I mean, no. I’m okay, just…please stay here.”

“Okay. Okay, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol pulled the door closed. “Let’s go sit down, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun let Chanyeol pull him towards the chair where he assumed people sat when Chanyeol was tattooing them and slid onto the vinyl easily. Baekhyun shivered, and he didn’t even notice Chanyeol grabbing his denim jacket until it was draped over Baekhyun’s shoulders and Chanyeol had sat down on his stool on the side.

“Seriously, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol watched as Baekhyun fit his arms through the proper holes and burrow into his jacket. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I just get overwhelmed easily and this is why I wanted to stay on campus tonight but Jongdae had to be an ass and drag me out when all I wanted was to pick up my new etude books.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Chanyeol rolled his stool over to the counter and started rummaging through a drawer. “No one’s going to bug us in here. Just relax, okay?”

“What if someone needs a tattoo, though? And you have to do it? Are you going to kick me out, because I really might as well save you the trouble and—”

“Hey. Stop.” Chanyeol was in front of Baekhyun once again, a bottle of lotion in his hand. “Give me your hand.”

“Chanyeol, you really don’t—”

“Hand. Now.” Chanyeol began rubbing a bit of the lotion on his palms to warm it up as Baekhyun held his hand out and relaxed back against the chair. Chanyeol took it in his and, once again, began delicately rubbing the lotion between his fingers and along his hand, digging his thumb into Baekhyun’s palm and smoothing the lotion all the way to where his jacket rested on his wrist.

“You’re still tense,” Chanyeol muttered, eyes not moving from Baekhyun’s hand.

“Well, what do you want me to do?” Baekhyun asked exasperatedly.

“Talk to me.”

“About what?”

“Anything.” Chanyeol looked up at Baekhyun, his eyes soft. “What have you been up to this week?”

“Uh…I’ve been working on this new etude that my instructor assigned me and I’m struggling with this triplet transition—”

“I know you do more than that, there has to be something else we haven’t talked about in the time since I’ve seen you.” Chanyeol shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve asked you, but what’s your favorite color?”

“Blue,” Baekhyun answered instantly. “But not, like, royal blue or a vibrant blue. A dark, muted blue that’s kind of misty, and you see it and it makes you think about rain and everything being wet and then the whole world feels really clean and it smells really good outside.”

“You like rain then?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun smiled. “Me and my brother used to go outside and play in it all the time. My mom hated it, we’d come inside all wet and stain the carpet and Baekbeom always got sick the next day, no matter how warm it was outside. Then, I’d take my keyboard into his room and sit on the floor and play for him, and he’d always request the Starlight Waltz, but that was okay because it was my favorite to play.” Baekhyun chuckled. “Mom got so tired of hearing it, so I would play it over and over while Baekbeom turned the volume up until she’d storm in and unplug it. Then I’d just switch over to the battery setting and keep playing, man she always got so pissed.” Baekhyun shook his head, his eyes going out of focus as he lost himself in the memory.

Chanyeol looked up at him and smiled. “You’re relaxing, look at that.”

“And I probably told you more than you cared to know. I’m sorry—”

“Stop apologizing. Do you really think I’d be here, doing this, if I didn’t care about you? Keep talking. You have a nice voice and that story obviously made you happy. Keep talking.” Chanyeol began massaging Baekhyun’s other hand.

“Uh…” He’d hit a wall. Suddenly there was nothing to talk about again.

“Is that the reason you chose to be a piano performance major?” Chanyeol asked, prompting Baekhyun to start up again.

“No.” He shook his head. “Turns out my brother has some super rare autoimmune disorder and he gets sick really easily. We never play in the rain anymore.” Baekhyun’s smile dropped. “I started performing and competing to earn money to help my mom pay for his medical bills, and I’m going to keep doing that to get all the money I can. That’s why I’m always accompanying the other studios too, make some extra cash. I think, once I finish my undergrad, that I want to go back to school and go into music therapy. Even when my brother was sick, he’d always ask me to play for him, and I would, and it made him happy. I want to make other people happy, too.”

“You are.”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

“You are making people happy.” Chanyeol looked up at Baekhyun but couldn’t meet his eyes, the pianist was focused somewhere on the floor. “Baekhyun.”

“You don’t have to lie to make me feel better.” Baekhyun shook his head. “Seriously, don’t. All I do is screw up, and I’m worried that my professor is going to kick me out of the music program. I’m pretty sure everyone just tolerates me, that I have no real friends and you’re probably just sticking with me until someone better comes along and—”

“Baekhyun, stop.” Chanyeol stopped massaging and tightened his grip on Baekhyun’s hand, interlacing their fingers again. “Don’t worry about the music thing, it’ll all work out. You’re an _amazing_ musician, and I know because you’ve played for me before and I think I probably cried a bit when you did. _And_ you’re an amazing person. Trust me, okay? You’re making people happy because you’re making _me_ happy. Hey, look at me.”

Chanyeol’s free hand grabbed Baekhyun’s chin and forced him to look him in the eyes, and Baekhyun immediately began biting at his bottom lip nervously.

“You don’t give yourself nearly enough credit,” Chanyeol whispered. He moved his hand from Baekhyun’s chin to his cheek, and Baekhyun leaned into his touch. “You’re amazing, you’re smart, you’re beautiful, you play an instrument and you’re damn good at it, you’re easy to talk to—fuck, you’re like the total package.”

“Coming from you, Mr. I’m-an-artist-and-I’m-tall-and-look-at-my-tattoos, that means nothing.”

“Really.” Chanyeol raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, really.” But Baekhyun’s blush proved that his words didn’t mean nothing, in fact, they meant quite the opposite.

“Whatever you say, Green Day.”

“That—that’s not a pianist.” Neither of them noticed how much they’d leaned into each other until they froze, just centimeters apart.

“I ran out of famous pianists. I’m going for popular musicians now.” Chanyeol smirked, his eyes staring right into Baekhyun’s.

“Oh.” Baekhyun’s eyes flickered down to Chanyeol’s lips, and he watched as the redhead licked his bottom lip and swallowed before looking back up at his eyes, which were still locked on Baekhyun’s.

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispered. Chanyeol hummed, not pulling back at all. “What are you doing?”

“What do you want me to do?” Chanyeol responded, leaning impossibly closer, his breath just hitting Baekhyun’s lips.

“I—uh, you…um…” Baekhyun’s brain had officially stopped working. That’s embarrassing.

Chanyeol chuckled. “You’re so cute.”

“Shut up,” Baekhyun whined. Chanyeol released Baekhyun’s cheek and sat up straight, Baekhyun curling back against the vinyl once again. “How did your proposal presentation go?”

Chanyeol smiled and launched into a lengthy explanation about numbers and stocks and products that Baekhyun couldn’t really follow. Under normal circumstances he would’ve been able to keep up, but he couldn’t tear his thoughts from Chanyeol’s hand still holding his, his thumb brushing over the back of his hand every few seconds.

They sat there for a little over an hour when Jongdae knocked on the door and walked in without waiting for any sort of acknowledgment. He froze, though, when he noticed how close the pair were sitting, and how their hands remained intertwined despite their attention being on Jongdae.

“Hey, Baek, we’re good to go. I’m done.” Jongdae held up his wrapped arm with a small smile. “You ready?”

“Oh, yeah.” Baekhyun couldn’t keep the disappointment out of his voice. “Let’s go.”

“I’ll walk you out.” Chanyeol stood up, taking Baekhyun’s hands and helping him up and out of the chair. Baekhyun shot him a grateful smile, one that made Chanyeol’s heart thump in his chest. He followed the two musicians down the hallway and towards the front door, where Chanyeol’s boss grabbed him and said that he had a walk in he needed to handle.

“Okay, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Chanyeol asked, his hand coming up to rub nervously at the back of his neck, a gesture that mimicked the one he’d done when he and Baekhyun had first met each other outside Kyungsoo’s apartment.

“What?” Baekhyun furrowed his brows for a minute before remembering. _Oh, Thursday._ “Oh, yeah. Breakfast at North?”

“You’ve got it, Taylor Swift.”

“Okay, now you’re just being ridiculous.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes, and Chanyeol laughed.

“Just for you, short stuff.”

“If I have to tell you one more fucking time that my height is—”

“You’re short, Baekhyun, we know. Come on!” Jongdae yelled at him from where he was already halfway to the car.

“Right, thank you, asshole! Anyway,” Baekhyun turned his attention back to the tattoo artist, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Have a good night, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol used his hand, which was still intertwined with Baekhyun’s, to pull the pianist towards him in a hug. Baekhyun froze, his free hand coming up to wrap around Chanyeol’s waist for stability as he was knocked off balance.

In the spur of the moment, Chanyeol bent down to press a fleeting kiss to the top of Baekhyun’s head. Instead of scaring him away like he’d been expecting, the gesture caused Baekhyun to tighten his grip on Chanyeol, burying his nose in the redhead’s chest and breathing in, allowing his cologne to enter his system and take over his whole mental capacity which seemed to be filled with _Chanyeol, Chanyeol, Chanyeol_ at all hours of the day.

Chanyeol grinned, pulling back slightly. Baekhyun did the same, slowly untangling himself and looking up at Chanyeol with a smile.

“Thank you.” He whispered.

Chanyeol’s hand came up from where it had been relaxed at his side to rest on Baekhyun’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly. “Anytime. Seriously, if you ever need anything just let me know, and I’ll be there.”

“Chanyeol—”

“No, listen for a second. If you’re ever feeling overwhelmed by anything, or you’re having a hard time in the practice room or if you just need a hug, call me. If it’s you, I’ll always pick up.”

“Okay.” Baekhyun smiled. “Thank you, Chanyeol.” He pulled away from Chanyeol and began backing towards Jongdae’s car. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Chanyeol smiled and nodded his head in Baekhyun’s direction before turning and reentering the parlor.

Baekhyun climbed into Jongdae’s car with a smile, looking out the window towards the entrance to the parlor and missing the pointed look Jongdae was giving him.

“Who was that?”

“What?” Baekhyun jumped, being pulled out of his daydream as Jongdae pulled back on the main road.

“The artist.”

“That’s Chanyeol. He said he knew you from—”

“Chem, yeah, I know.” Jongdae reached over and shoved Baekhyun into the door. “No, like, who is he to you?”

“He’s…” What was Chanyeol? His neighbor? No, they were way too close to be nothing more than neighbors. A friend? How could Baekhyun simply call him a friend when he wanted him to be something more? Someone he’s been meeting for lunch? No, that makes it sound like they’re dating, which was not something Jongdae needed to know with his big mouth. An acquaintance? Not even Baekhyun could find a way to defend that one, not with how they were acting in the parlor a few minutes ago. “Just a friend.” Baekhyun eventually decided, determining that was closest to the truth.

Jongdae hummed. “Don’t sound so sad when you say it.”

“Now what are you on about?” Baekhyun sighed and looked at his friend who had a knowing look on his face.

“’Just a friend,’ my ass. You like him.”

“I do not.”

“He likes you too,”

“What?” Baekhyun sputtered in surprise. “No—he doesn’t—we’re not, no. No, he doesn’t, it’s not nice to lie to people, ‘Dae.”

“Oh, _please._ ” Jongdae rolled his eyes. “He likes you. He kissed you.”

“On the head.” Baekhyun was quick to clarify the details.

“So he’s starting small. And he held your hand.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.” Baekhyun defended.

“You held it back. Equal pressure, Baek, you guys were holding each other’s hands and it was cute and you honestly already look like you’re dating. Plus, he gave you his jacket.”

Baekhyun looked down in surprise. He hadn’t even realized that he was still wearing Chanyeol’s jacket, the sleeves coming down past his fingers. He smiled, absentmindedly pulling the extra layer tighter around his body.

“You _so_ like him, oh my god.”

“Shut up, Jongdae.” Baekhyun bit his lip to hold down his smile, looking out the window and tuning his friend out and watching as his apartment complex came into view in the distance.

“You’re blushing, look at you.” Jongdae cooed. “Yixing is going to get a kick out of this.”

 

* * *

 

Baekhyun spotted Chanyeol at their usual spot the next morning for breakfast, a plate of food already in front of him and his laptop open on the table.

“You weren’t supposed to let me leave with your jacket, idiot.” Baekhyun threw his backpack in an empty seat next to his and glared at Chanyeol, who simply raised his eyebrows amusedly as he continued chewing. “You were probably cold on your way home.”

Chanyeol shook his head, taking a drink out of his water bottle before speaking up. “I was fine, you looked like you needed it. Besides, you looked so cute in my jacket, you’re so _small_.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Alright, whatever. Anyway, take it back now.”

“No.”

Baekhyun froze from where he’d been about to dig the jacket out of his backpack. “What?”

“I’m already wearing another one now, you just hold onto it for a while longer.” Chanyeol smiled, gesturing to the darker denim jacket he was wearing and Baekhyun looked dejectedly at the one he was holding in his hand.

“Are you sure?”

Chanyeol simply hummed, standing up from his seat to put the jacket on Baekhyun much like he had the night before, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt out the back and smoothing the collar. It was cool, and Baekhyun certainly was grateful for the extra warmth, pushing his guilt to the back of his mind when he saw Chanyeol smile.

“I was right, you do look cute in my clothes.”

“Stop that.” Chanyeol laughed as Baekhyun shoved him backward. “I’m not cute, I’m not short, leave me alone. I’m going to go get something to eat.”

Breakfast passed easily, and Chanyeol was in the middle of talking about a customer he’d tattooed the night before after Baekhyun left when someone approached their table.

“Byun Baekhyun, eating in public _and_ socially interacting, what kind of things have I done to be blessed with such a sight?” Luhan plopped himself down on Baekhyun’s lap, taking a piece of the half-eaten biscuit on Baekhyun’s plate and tossing it in his mouth.

“You’re gross, Lu, what do you want?” Baekhyun put a hand on his friend’s back, and it took only a single push to push him off-balance enough for him to stumble off Baekhyun’s lap and into the waiting arms of one of his friends.

“That was rude.”

“If you’d stop sitting on everyone’s lap, you’d stop getting pushed off.” The friend supplied helpfully, and Chanyeol laughed.

“Well said, Sehun.” He reached out and shook this Sehun’s hand, greeting him and Luhan.

“You know them?” Baekhyun asked, looking back and forth between the three.

“Our paths have crossed.” Chanyeol shrugged. Baekhyun rolled his eyes, shoving another spoonful of cereal in his mouth to keep from having to think up a response. _Of course_ they had.

“Anyway.” Luhan leaned on the edge of the table and ruffled Baekhyun’s hair, earning a whine of protest from the pianist. “How have you been, kid?”

“Fine,” Baekhyun grumbled, pushing Luhan’s hand away and running a hand through his hair. “Busy.”

“Still playing piano, are you?”

“It’s my major, Lu, _yes_ I’m still playing.”

“Right, right. And you’re still as bored as ever, aren’t you?”

“ _Lu_.”

“And, to combat your boredom from picking the worst major ever, and to catch up with me, the best person on this planet, you should come to my party tomorrow night!”

“I don’t do parties.” Baekhyun shook his head. “You know that.”

“Aw come on. For me?” Luhan knelt next to Baekhyun so the two were eye level, putting a perfect puppy-dog face up to sway Baekhyun. “Your oldest friend?”

“I don’t think so.” Baekhyun bit his lip nervously.

“Alright, up to you, Baek. Just keep being lame, that’s fine. What about you, tall, dark, and handsome?”

Chanyeol raised a brow, and Baekhyun turned his attention to the redhead. “I’m invited?”

“Everyone’s invited,” Sehun smirked, jostling Chanyeol’s shoulder. “You should come. It’ll be better than the last one.”

“ _And_ _then_ Baekhyun will have a friend and no excuse not to come!” Luhan clasped his hands together and stood up. “Brilliant!”

“A party? Sounds like fun! We’ll be there.” Jongdae slid into the chair next to Baekhyun, throwing his arm around his friend’s shoulders.

“Why the hell are you here?” Baekhyun groaned. “This is too much social interaction for me. Too many people. I’m out.”

Without saying bye to anyone, Baekhyun stood up and grabbed his backpack, shouldering between Sehun and Luhan and making towards the front door.

“Baekhyun!” Baekhyun turned around right as he reached the door to see Chanyeol jogging up behind him, his own backpack slung over his shoulders. “Hey, are you okay? You kind of just took off back there.”

“I’m fine, like I said, there were just too many people.” Baekhyun shook his head. “You should go on Friday. I can’t, I have orchestra rehearsal, but you should.”

“I don’t know, Baek, didn’t we have plans?” Baekhyun’s heart fluttered at the nickname. And yes, they did.

They had made plans to go out after Baekhyun’s rehearsal, but now Baekhyun felt guilty. Obviously, Chanyeol had other friends, friends who partied and stayed out late on Friday nights, who got drunk and played beer pong and made out with girls and Baekhyun had been taking that away from him. Baekhyun, who had maybe four friends and for whom it had become a habit to call Chanyeol whenever he had a free minute, was stealing Chanyeol away from a crowd of people where he belonged. He didn’t belong with someone like Baekhyun, a music kid who was prone to panic attacks with social anxiety. He belonged with people like Sehun and Luhan, and Kris. People who partied and went out and had _fun._

Baekhyun came to the realization with a start. He was right, he always had been. Chanyeol didn’t care about him, he’d always just felt bad for him. Chanyeol was probably itching for an excuse to not spend another boring night with Baekhyun, and this was it. Why wasn’t he taking it and running? This was his chance to get away from Baekhyun, he just had to _go_.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol’s hand came to rest on Baekhyun’s shoulder lightly.

“You should go,” Baekhyun repeated, not looking at Chanyeol’s face. “Go, have fun. I don’t mind, I’ll probably be tired after rehearsal anyway—Junmyeon’s been breathing down my neck for a big concerto we’re working on. This is better, you should just go.”

“Baek—”

“ _Go_ , Chanyeol. Go have fun with your friends, I’ll be fine.” He glanced at his watch. He still had half an hour before class, but Chanyeol didn’t need to know that. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you around, I guess.”

Baekhyun shook Chanyeol’s arm off his shoulder and walked out the door, unconsciously burrowing further into the oversized, familiar smelling jacket as he did.

 

* * *

 

Friday was the worst day Baekhyun had had in a while, and that was saying a lot. He’d forgotten about a statistics quiz, hadn’t turned in his literature homework, and on top of everything else, Baekhyun had skipped the usual lunch with Chanyeol and ignored all his calls and texts.

He was determined to cut Chanyeol out of his life so the redhead wouldn’t have to do it himself.

The bad day continued through the rehearsal, where Baekhyun had fumbled through the concerto, putting the whole orchestra back on the rehearsal schedule. He knew Junmyeon had been trying not to get mad, but he also knew the concertmaster couldn’t help but chew him out after, away from everyone, stressing the importance of him being solid on his parts since the concerto was to highlight his piano skills _and_ be the final piece the university would submit for a contest.

He felt like absolute shit. All he really wanted to do was call Chanyeol, go get something full of calories that would probably give him heart disease, and watch some stupid comedy movie in the backseat of his jeep— _no._

Completely miserable, Baekhyun cleared his screen after ignoring Chanyeol’s fifth call of the night and flopped on his bed. The pianist plugged his phone in and put it on do not disturb, grabbed a tub of ice cream and burrowed in his blanket, pulling up a movie on Netflix to complete his sad little night in.

 _Pathetic_. And he knew it.

Baekhyun was just dozing off, collapsed on his pillows when a sharp voice rang out in his apartment.

“Come on, Cinderella, we need to get your ass ready for the ball.” Jongdae sang, throwing the door to Baekhyun’s bedroom open and waltzing in.

“What do you _want_ , ‘Dae.” Baekhyun groaned, rolling over to try and hide away from the bright lights Jongdae had turned on when he’d entered the room. He really should take away his spare key. “That key is to be used for emergencies only.”

“Nope, no sir.” Jongdae unceremoniously pulled the blanket off Baekhyun’s bed and threw it on the floor. “Your social life is the _definition_ of emergency. You’re not skipping out on me this time. Get your ass up and in the shower while I find you something to wear.”

“Jongdae, how many times do I have to tell you, I’m not going.” Baekhyun sat up and glared daggers at the intruder. “It’s been a rough day, I didn’t sleep last night, I really don’t want to go anywhere. Please leave me alone.”

“Not a chance!” Jongdae yelled from the bathroom. He turned on the shower and walked back into Baekhyun’s bedroom, sighing dramatically when he noticed that in his absence Baekhyun had pulled the blanket back up and curled up beneath it, the edges fisted cutely below his chin.

“Up, princess.” Jongdae grabbed Baekhyun’s arm and pulled him off the bed despite how Baekhyun was basically a dead weight against him. “Go shower, unless you want me in there to help you out—”

“You’re the fucking _worst_.” Baekhyun groaned, pushing Jongdae off and slamming the door to the bathroom, locking it.

“You’ll thank me later!” Jongdae called through the door before returning back to Baekhyun’s room to tackle his friend’s lackluster wardrobe. Much to Jongdae’s dismay, Baekhyun’s drawers were filled with t-shirts and sweatpants, his closet with a couple sweatshirts and a concert tux. That was it.

“Is this really all you wear?” Jongdae asked, glaring accusingly at Baekhyun when his friend had returned from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. “You own nothing that is acceptable for a party.”

“I’ve only been to a couple parties, ‘Dae.” Baekhyun defended. “And I haven’t ever wanted to go back, so what’s the point?”

“Welcome to the real world, Baekhyun. There are parties here.”

“I hate it.”

“Well, get over it. Here,” Jongdae threw Baekhyun a pair of black skinny jeans to throw over his briefs, “Put those on.”

Baekhyun sighed and did as his friend asked, knowing that he wasn’t getting out of this now, not since he’d already showered. Why waste a perfectly good shower? He pulled on the black and white striped t-shirt Jongdae threw at him next, toweling his hair as the vocalist searched for something to complete the look.

“You still have his jacket?”

“What?” Baekhyun turned to see Jongdae holding Chanyeol’s light denim jacket in his hand, eyeing it curiously. “Oh, yeah. He wouldn’t take it back when I offered it.”

Jongdae opened his mouth, but Baekhyun cut him off. “If you say he likes me again I’m going to kill you.” Jongdae promptly shut his mouth and shrugged.

“Well, wear this.” He smirked. “It matches your outfit.”

“You planned this, didn’t you?” Baekhyun asked as he pulled the jacket on.

“No,” Jongdae walked over and began rolling the wrists so Baekhyun didn’t have to push them up all night, “but it worked out well, didn’t it? Okay, eyeliner and you’re good.”

Baekhyun took the liberty of doing his own makeup, almost screaming when Jongdae tried to come at him with his favorite liquid eyeliner in his hand. With a bit more hair styling from Jongdae and his pair of gray converse on his feet, Jongdae was literally dragging Baekhyun out the door.

He tuned all of the pianist’s complaints out thanks to the volume controls on his car, the music vibrating the vehicle so badly Baekhyun could feel his teeth rattling.

“This is nothing,” Jongdae assured him. “Just wait until we get there.”

Once they pulled up outside the frat house, Baekhyun wanted nothing more than to drive back to his apartment and watch another movie. He eyed Jongdae as he shoved his car keys in his pocket, wondering if they were good enough friends for him to reach down and take them back.

“You’re here now.” Jongdae had thrown an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulder and led him inside. “Just let it happen.”

Once the pair was inside, Baekhyun stuck to Jongdae as he made his way to the kitchen. Much to Jongdae’s surprise, Baekhyun skipped over the rum and poured himself a tequila shot, downing two before rejoining him at the counter.

“You good?” Jongdae asked, beginning to regret dragging his friend out of his apartment.

“If I’m here, I’m going to make it worth my fucking while.” Baekhyun hissed, taking a red plastic cup and filling it with rum and a bit of coke, though his proportions were off so he ended up with a _lot_ of rum and a _little_ coke.

“Okay, so on a scale of bad days did today suck, or did it full on explode in your face?”

Baekhyun shook his head, knocking back a third of his drink. “I’m here to get fucking hammered. Don’t let me go home with anyone tonight.”

“Right. Nuclear blast. Got it.” Jongdae took a shot of his own before following Baekhyun back out to the living space where most of the dancing was being done, if one could consider that “dancing.” Baekhyun, as smart as he was, stuck to the side wall and continued nursing his drink while watching the desperate, horny college kids grind on each other in hopes of getting laid by whoever their partner was.

Jongdae continued to turn guys and girls away when they approached him, determined to keep an eye on his miserable friend. Baekhyun was surprised, he knew Jongdae attended a lot of parties but he’d had no idea that he was so popular. However, when Wendy and Irene, a couple of sorority girls, began pouting as soon as Jongdae shook his head Baekhyun took his friend’s drink and set it on a side table.

“Go.” He jutted his chin towards the dance floor. “I’ll be here, I’m not an idiot and I’m not drunk yet.”

“Thanks, man.” Jongdae clapped him on the shoulder before putting an arm around each girl and leading them towards the mass of sweaty people. Soon enough he was lost in the crowd, dancing his way into both girls’ short skirts, Baekhyun was sure.

Baekhyun sat dejectedly against the wall, lost in his own world until he noticed that his drink was running low. Knowing that Jongdae wasn’t paying attention anymore, Baekhyun pushed off the wall and made his way back to the open bar, missing the tall, tattooed redhead following him into the kitchen.

“You might want to slow down.” The redhead commented, walking up behind the pianist who was filling his whole cup with rum, wanting to bypass the soda all together this time around.

“What’s it to you?” Baekhyun shot back, slamming the bottle back on the counter. “Parties are good for nothing but getting laid and getting hammered.”

“And which are you planning on doing tonight?” Chanyeol asked, leaning against the counter.

“Are you offering?” Baekhyun finally turned to look up at the guy who he’d been talking to and _whoa_ , that’s why that voice sounded familiar. Baekhyun was right, _this_ was the crowd Chanyeol belonged with. His red hair was swept up and out of his face, and he had paired grey jeans and a dark green shirt with a black bomber jacket, and he looked so fucking _good_ it was almost criminal.

“Do you want me to?” Chanyeol shot back, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, hi, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun’s voice dropped and he shrunk back into himself. “What’s up?”

“What’s up, Baekhyun? Are you fucking kidding me? Where the hell have you been?” Chanyeol exploded, pushing off the counter and backing Baekhyun into a corner.

“I, uh, around. You know, music and stuff, and I’m going to go now.” Baekhyun tried to push past Chanyeol, hoping to lose himself in the crowd, but Chanyeol was faster and stronger. He reached out and grabbed Baekhyun, locking his upper arm in a titanium grip and pulling him back, trapping him between his arms in a corner of the counter.

“Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop _running from me._ ” Chanyeol’s voice dropped in anger, and Baekhyun actually winced. “You fucking dropped me out of nowhere, and this is the last place I would’ve expected to see you. What is going on?”

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry, but I just don’t think that we should be hanging out, you know, your friends are probably wondering where you are all the time, and—”

“What are you talking about?”

“Look, I get it. I’m some sort of project to you, and that’s fine, but playtime’s over. You can go back to your regularly scheduled programming now because spoiler alert, I’m a big boy who can take care of myself.”

“Baekhyun, what the hell?” Chanyeol pressed himself against Baekhyun’s body to keep him trapped to the counter. “Seriously, what’s going on with you? You’re not making any sense. I’m worried about you, Baekhyun, let me help you.” His voice dropped during his plea.

“I—you can’t. You shouldn’t, just leave me alone, okay? It’ll be best for both of us if we stop associating with each other.”

“Bullshit, Baekhyun. Is this about what happened at the parlor? Is that coming back? I meant what I said, you know. You’re not supposed to cut me out like this, I’m here to help you.”

“Why?” Baekhyun’s voice was so small, so un-Baekhyun. “Why would you want to help me?”

“Are you fucking kidding me—no.” Chanyeol stood up. “I’m not doing this in a goddamned kitchen.” Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s wrist and pulled him out of the kitchen and through the living room, avoiding the dance floor and pulling him up the stairs.

Baekhyun staggered along behind Chanyeol as he was dragged down the hall to a closed door. “This is Luhan’s room, he won’t mind us borrowing it for a while. No, you don’t want to know.” Chanyeol cut in before Baekhyun could ask the question that had been on the tip of his tongue. He nodded.

Chanyeol pushed the door open, and an unknown couple turned to glare at the intruders. Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun in, hiding him behind him as he glared at the pair. “Fuck off.”

“Dude, we were here first.” The guy started.

“I don’t care,” Chanyeol growled. “This is my room, now get the _fuck out_ of here.”

The couple looked at Chanyeol, shock and embarrassment on their faces. “Sorry, man, we’ll go. Uh, have fun.” The two were out the door, and Chanyeol locked it behind them.

“Chanyeol, maybe we should—”

“Baekhyun, please, just listen to me. You’re asking why I would want to help you, but isn’t it obvious?” Chanyeol let out a humorless chuckle. He looked down at Baekhyun. “I like you. Like, I really like you, and you’re wearing proof of that.”

Baekhyun looked down, forgetting that he’d been wearing Chanyeol’s jacket. “You—what?” His words were failing him again. _Fuck_.

“Oh my god, Baekhyun. I like you, okay? Like, I want our late-night drives to be real dates, and I want to be the one you go to when you get anxious, and I want to give you a key to my apartment and I want to meet you for lunch all the time and _fuck_ , I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone more than I want to kiss you right now.” Chanyeol took a hesitant step forward once he was finished, looking down at Baekhyun who was staring back up at him with wide eyes.

“You—oh my _god_.” Baekhyun blinked twice. “Okay, um, wow.”

“It was so hard, I really wanted to kiss you a couple weeks ago when you were at the parlor but I didn’t, because I wasn’t sure how you felt and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Oh,” Baekhyun said dumbly, his mind all over the place. Was this the part where he said it back? What if it was all a giant, cosmic joke and Chanyeol was lying, just wanting to embarrass Baekhyun and laugh about it with his friends, and—

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asked softly. “Can you say something, anything, please?”

Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol then, _really_ looked at him and realized that Chanyeol wasn’t lying, he wasn’t joking. There was nothing in his eyes that didn’t look sincere, and he was looking at Baekhyun like he was holding the earth, the moon, and all the stars and _yeah_ , Baekhyun thought, _I can get behind this._

“I, uh, well, this is actually kind of funny.” He took a step towards the redhead.

“What?”

“I like you too. Or, well, I’ve liked you for a while, I just haven’t said anything because I never wanted to screw up the thing we had going because it was great and I tend to fuck things up and I ramble and I get anxious and nervous and the thought of losing you is so fucking terrifying that it’s always been easier to just not do anything and why are you looking at me like that?” Baekhyun paused and bit his lip. “Did I say something wrong? Oh, I fucked this up, didn’t I? See, I told you—”

“Stop.” Chanyeol smiled softly. “You haven’t fucked anything up.” His right hand came up to rest on Baekhyun’s cheek. “So, let me make sure I have this right. I’ve liked you for a while.”

“Yes.”

“And you’ve liked me for a while.”

“Yes.”

“So now we’re in the mutual ‘I like you’ zone.”

Baekhyun hummed. “That sounds about right.”

“Is it socially acceptable for me to kiss you now?” Chanyeol asked, smirking.

Baekhyun floundered for a second. Wow, that was fast. “Yes.” _Wait, what?_

Chanyeol pressed his whole body on Baekhyun, his hand on his cheek applying just the right amount of pressure to angle Baekhyun’s head so their lips could meet easily. The kiss was light, and short, but as soon as Chanyeol began pulling away Baekhyun whined in disappointment and grabbed Chanyeol’s jacket, pulling him back.

It was like a switch had been flipped in Chanyeol’s mind, because the second he did that Chanyeol was on top of him, his free hand wrapping around Baekhyun’s waist to hold him flush. Baekhyun sighed contently, adjusting his grip to instead wrap his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, thrusting up on his toes to try and meet the taller halfway.

Baekhyun’s hands kept working their way up, eventually tangling in Chanyeol’s hair as Chanyeol’s mouth worked down, kissing and sucking below his jaw and down his neck. Baekhyun let out an appreciative moan when Chanyeol sucked lightly on his Adam’s apple, the vibrations running through Chanyeol’s head and making him that much more aroused.

Eventually, the angle became too awkward and painful for Chanyeol to hold it any longer, so he easily gripped the backs of Baekhyun’s thighs and lifted him in one smooth motion. Baekhyun cried out in surprise, his legs automatically wrapping around Chanyeol’s waist to keep him from slipping back down.

“Fuck, warn me next time,” Baekhyun spoke up a second later as Chanyeol was making his way over to Luhan’s bed.

“Oh, so there’s going to be a next time then, is there?” Chanyeol smirked when he felt Baekhyun nuzzle his nose below Chanyeol’s jaw, right by his ear.

“Don’t push it, Park,” Baekhyun whispered then, his warm breath ghosting over Chanyeol’s ear making the taller hiss, almost tripping as his attention was diverted from walking over to the bed.

“Careful.” Chanyeol could hear Baekhyun’s smirk against his neck as he began sucking on the skin back where his jaw curved, and he couldn’t help but let out a loud moan as he sat down on the bed. Baekhyun reached around and was able to pull his shoes off easily, tossing them off the bed so he could sit more comfortably in Chanyeol’s lap.

“Shut up, Baek.” Chanyeol cupped Baekhyun’s cheek and pulled him back up for another kiss. Baekhyun moaned as his fingers ghosted down his neck and down to his jacket. Lost in the moment, Baekhyun dropped his hands and let Chanyeol tug the denim off his shoulders and drop it on the floor.

“Off. Off, now.” Baekhyun began grabbing mindlessly at Chanyeol’s jacket, and the taller complied quickly. He peeled his own jacket off quickly, followed by his shirt when Baekhyun pulled up at the hem.

Baekhyun paused when he saw Chanyeol’s naked torso on full display, the dark tattoos contrasting with his tanned skin, and he couldn’t help as his hands began roaming up his chest and over his shoulders. Baekhyun’s hands came up to circle the back of Chanyeol’s neck, pulling him close to re-engage him in a kiss.

Chanyeol laid back on the bed, tugging Baekhyun down with him as his hands worked their way under Baekhyun’s shirt, his fingertips running up the expanse of the musician’s back softly.

He didn’t think too much of it when Baekhyun gasped, taken over by the pleasure and sensations of Chanyeol’s gentle hands resting in the dip of his back. A second later, though, right after they had both ground onto each other, Baekhyun sat up so fast Chanyeol was worried he was going to throw himself off the bed.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol propped himself up on his elbows and watched as Baekhyun ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. No. I’m fine—I just, uh.” Baekhyun stammered nervously. “I-I’m sorry.” He climbed off Chanyeol’s lap and stood up, stumbling over to where he’d tossed his jacket.

“Whoa, hold on a second.” Chanyeol pushed off the bed and stood up, watching as Baekhyun searched for his shoes. “What just happened?”

“I can’t—I can’t do that. I’m sorry, _fuck_ , I’m so sorry, but I just can’t. I’ve never done—uh, s-shit.” Baekhyun buried his head in his hands, breathing heavily.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Chanyeol walked over to Baekhyun and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. “It’s fine, you don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for.”

Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol warily, and the taller shot him a smile. “You’re not mad?”

“Nope.” Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun in for a hug, wrapping his arms securely around the trembling musician. “It’s okay, Baek, really. Don’t do anything you don’t want to do, I understand.”

“Thank you,” Baekhyun whispered, allowing himself to collapse against Chanyeol’s chest.

Chanyeol waited until Baekhyun had stopped shaking to speak up again. “Do you want to go back downstairs?”

“No.” Baekhyun shook his head, and Chanyeol had to resist the urge to coo at how cute he was being. “Can we just, like, lay down? And not do anything else?”

“Sure, yeah. Whatever you want.” Chanyeol reassured him, his hand squeezing his shoulder as Baekhyun pulled the jacket off again. He slipped out of his own shoes and pulled his shirt back on before joining Baekhyun where he’d crawled on the bed.

“I’m really sorry,” Baekhyun spoke up again.

“Don’t be.” Chanyeol shook his head as he wrapped an arm around Baekhyun, pulling him to rest his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder.

“You’re probably furious, and I definitely did what I always do and fucked this up.”

“Baekhyun, seriously, I’m not mad, okay? I promise I’m not mad.” Chanyeol began running his fingers along Baekhyun’s arm, trying to calm him down. “Do you mind me asking what happened?”

“I just, I don’t really do that.” Baekhyun took a deep breath. “I mean, I’ve had sex before. Kind of. Not, like, all the way. And I just, I don’t hook up with people a lot. Or, uh, ever.” His voice dwindled down until it was no more than a whisper. “I got carried away, but then I started thinking and I freaked out and it was just too much too fast and I’m really sorry.”

“Stop apologizing, you weren’t ready. That’s totally okay, I promise. I’m not mad, I don’t hate you, I’m actually glad you stopped me.” Chanyeol tightened his grip on Baekhyun. “Because if not, I would’ve tried to go all the way and if you’d done something you didn’t want to do for me, well, _that_ would’ve made me mad. But this is nice too.”

“I didn’t totally fuck up and you’re not going to run off, right?” Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol nervously. “Right?”

“I’m staying right here, Baek, I promise.” Chanyeol pressed a light kiss to Baekhyun’s forehead. “I do have a question for you, though.”

“Shoot.” Baekhyun made himself more comfortable against Chanyeol’s side.

“Will you be my boyfriend? Like, officially?” He held his breath as he waited for Baekhyun’s answer.

Baekhyun couldn’t help the smile that took over his face. “Yeah.” He nodded. “I’d love that.”

“Okay. Great.” Chanyeol bit his lips to keep from smiling _too_ widely. His hand that was wrapped around Baekhyun’s shoulders came up to start scratching lightly at the back of his head, and Baekhyun sighed appreciatively at the contact.

“I have another question,” Chanyeol spoke up again after some time of silence—how long had they been laying there? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Baekhyun found he didn’t care, not as long as Chanyeol’s arms were around him.

Baekhyun hummed.

“Earlier this week when you, uh, started avoiding me.” Chanyeol cleared his throat. “Did you let everything out? I know you, and the last thing you should be doing is holding your feelings in or we’re going to end up yelling at each other again.” He chuckled nervously.

“Well, I still think you’re too good for me,” Baekhyun said simply. Chanyeol opened his mouth to say something but Baekhyun cut him off. “But, it’s not so bad now. I mean, I like you, you like me, that’s all there is to it, right?”

“Right.”

“I mean, I know that your friends aren’t really people I usually hang out with, but I want to meet them. Maybe. If that’s okay with you, of course.” Baekhyun added quickly. “I’m just kind of tired of all these social constructs that musicians won’t make money and can’t be with anyone of a different major or that tattoos aren’t cool because they look great on you and I’m rambling again.”

Chanyeol smiled endearingly. “Thank you, I’m glad you like them. And I’d love to introduce you to my friends and all, but maybe another time? One thing at a time, right?”

“Okay, yeah.” Baekhyun shut his eyes and threw his leg around Chanyeol’s thigh, effectively trapping him in place. “One thing at a time. The thing right now is you staying here and we’re just going to cuddle for a while.”

“Yes, sir.” Chanyeol laughed.

They settled into a comfortable silence after that, doing what they always do, just _talking_. Nothing else, and Chanyeol understood that, for which Baekhyun was grateful. He didn’t want to go any further, he couldn’t, and instead of yelling at him and leaving like Baekhyun was half expecting him to do Chanyeol had hugged him and thanked him for telling him what was going on. _That_ had been new. And unexpected. But nice.

Chanyeol caught him up on what was going on in his life since they’d last talked, he talked about a mock business proposal he was given to review for a friend of his, and about how he’d gotten a couple of his friends together, though he hadn’t thought of them hooking up while he was still in the apartment, and so he’d left once he’d heard the bed start banging. Baekhyun drew little designs on Chanyeol’s chest, perfectly content to just sit and listen to Chanyeol talk for _hours_.

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae yelled once he threw open the door, Luhan and Sehun hot on his heels as he stormed in the room.

Baekhyun screamed, he actually fucking _screamed_ , and he buried his face in Chanyeol’s shoulder in fright and embarrassment. “What the fuck.” He whined, not looking up.

Chanyeol laughed, his hand rubbing soothing circles on Baekhyun’s back to get him to calm back down.

“Byun Baekhyun.” Jongdae was furious. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Here?” Baekhyun turned over in Chanyeol’s arms so he was facing the door where his three friends were staring at the newly formed couple. “Why?”

“Why? _Why?_ You disappeared, and I thought you actually went home with someone even though you don’t do that since you wanted to get hammered and yet here you are in the arms of Mr. Bad Boy over there—”

“Who, me?” Chanyeol rolled over so he was now laying behind the smaller male who had sat up to stare his friend down.

“—and you terrified me that I had lost you! I was half expecting you to call me crying, begging me to pick you up from someone’s apartment. You are the worst best friend ever!” Jongdae finished with a whine.

“You were busy!” Baekhyun defended. “I wasn’t drunk, nor _am_ I drunk, and I was being a good friend and giving you the chance to dance your way into _two_ sorority girls’ beds.”

“You should’ve texted me or something. I was seriously worried.” Jongdae shoved Chanyeol’s legs over, earning an annoyed “hey!” from the male, and collapsed next Baekhyun, resting his head on his friend’s shoulder.

“He was,” Luhan spoke up, crossing his arms and leaning fully on Sehun, who grunted at the sudden additional weight. “He dragged me all over the house until blondie,” he elbowed Sehun in the gut, “here let us know that Chanyeol had mentioned using my room for something.”

“I thought they were just coming up here to fuck!” Sehun spoke up, and Jongdae whirled around to face Chanyeol.

“Park Chanyeol,” Jongdae spoke darkly. “Did you do something to Baekhyun?”

“No?” Chanyeol chose his words carefully. “We didn’t do much.”

“ _Much?!_ ” Jongdae screeched, launching himself at the redhead. “Did you just defile my best friend, you asshole?”

“Oh, _Christ_ , Jongdae.” Baekhyun grabbed Jongdae’s shoulders and dragged him off Chanyeol and onto the floor. “We’re both still fully clothed, wake the fuck up. We didn’t _do_ anything.”

“Good thing. I don’t want to think about my friends’ cum being in my sheets.” Luhan laughed at the way Baekhyun’s face went red and Chanyeol began looking up at the ceiling.

“Aw, they’re blushing.” Sehun cooed, throwing an arm around Luhan’s shoulders. “Isn’t that sweet.”

“Shut up, shithead.” Chanyeol sat up finally and glared at the two snickering in the doorway. He held his hand out and Baekhyun took it, sitting on the bed and melding himself into Chanyeol’s side. “Get out.”

“Hm, no. This is my room, and since you two obviously don’t know, the party’s been over for an hour now.”

“You’ve been up here for _hours_ , man.” Sehun picked up. “It’s 2:30.”

“And since _someone_ ,” Luhan glared at Jongdae who stared innocently back, “dragged me away from what would’ve been a good fuck, I just want to curl up miserably and be sad in my own bed, thanks.”

“Alright, we get it.” Chanyeol stood up, tugging Baekhyun up by his hand. “We’ll leave you and Sehun to fuck in peace.”

The two friends stared at Chanyeol in shock as he and Baekhyun grabbed their shoes, and the redhead followed the two musicians out the door. “Don’t forget to use protection.” He finished with a wink, pulling the door shut.

“You told!”

“ _You_ told!”

“How did you know?” Baekhyun asked as he sat down to pull his shoes back on. The sounds in the room turned from the two yelling at each other to something obviously much more intimate.

Chanyeol shrugged. “I thought it was obvious. It’s been a few months, at least.”

“Somehow, I’m not surprised.” Jongdae shook his head. “Seriously, I feel like I’m the only straight one left out of any of my friends.”

“Junmyeon’s straight.” Baekhyun supplied from his spot on the ground.

“If you were trying to make me feel better, that didn’t help at all.”

The three made their way down the stairs and out the front door, Baekhyun looking sympathetically at the mess of a living room (filled with real trash and human trash) that the guys would have to clean in the morning. The front yard was no better.

“Hey, Jongdae, is that…”

“Wendy, Irene!” Jongdae split off from the couple and made his way to the girls he’d been dancing with earlier. “What are you two lovely ladies still doing here, all alone in the middle of the night?”

“What the _fuck_.” Baekhyun shook his head, his eyes wide.

“We were waiting for you!” Wendy cried, throwing her arms around Jongdae and collapsing in his arms. Jongdae chuckled and caught her easily.

“Oh, it was so sweet how you left us to go find your friend.” Irene was almost crying. “My hero!”

“A true knight in shining armor!” Wendy added enthusiastically.

“Well, why doesn’t this knight escort you beauties home?”

“Oh, how will we ever repay you?” Irene ran her hand along Jongdae’s waist.

“We can have sex!” Wendy yelled excitedly.

“Sh!” Irene giggled and covered Wendy’s mouth. “That’s only if you want to?” She looked at Jongdae shyly.

“How about I walk you girls home, and we’ll talk about it?” Jongdae wrapped an arm around each girl, offering Baekhyun and Chanyeol a two-fingered salute when he passed them, heading for the sorority houses on the next block over.

“How does he do that?” Chanyeol asked amazed, watching Jongdae walk off with the two wide-eyed.

“Jongdae just…has that effect on people, I guess.” Baekhyun shrugged. A cool wind blew by then, and he shivered and curled into Chanyeol’s side.

“Let’s head back.” Chanyeol wrapped his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders, his hand rubbing along Baekhyun’s arm as they walked towards where Chanyeol’s car was parked down the block.

“Wait.” Baekhyun paused when Chanyeol reached into his pocket to unlock his car. “How much, uh, are you good to drive?”

“Two beers, four hours ago,” Chanyeol promised. “I’m designated driver for my group anyway, but they must have taken the hint and disappeared on their own, or they all went home with someone which wouldn’t really be surprising—not the point. I’m good, I promise.”

“Okay. Okay, I trust you.” Baekhyun pulled open the passenger door and slid into the seat.

The drive back to their apartment complex was quiet, the only sounds being the gentle hum of the engine and soft music playing through the speakers. Chanyeol must have been good at holding his alcohol, Baekhyun decided, for the Chanyeol driving now was the same Chanyeol who drove them to dinner last week. Baekhyun kept his eyes trained out the window, watching the empty yet brightly lit landscape race by as Chanyeol navigated his way along the mostly empty highway. His left hand was glued to the wheel, his right sitting lightly on Baekhyun’s thigh. Baekhyun had his left hand resting on top of it, his fingers nestled between Chanyeol’s naturally.

Baekhyun yawned right as Chanyeol was pulling into the parking garage, and he smiled softly as Baekhyun covered his mouth with both of his hands.

“Come on, Mozart. Let’s get you to bed.” Chanyeol chuckled as he and Baekhyun climbed out of the car. Baekhyun took what Chanyeol figured would now be his permanent spot under his arm, curled against his body and away from the cool wind.

Chanyeol held Baekhyun close the whole way up to their floor, where he had intended to walk Baekhyun to his apartment but Baekhyun stopped at the doorway of his.

“Baek? Are you okay?” He asked, watching Baekhyun look back and forth between the two doors and bite his lip nervously.

“Yeah, it’s just, uh…” Baekhyun took a deep breath, trying to stop his heart from pounding as he looked up at Chanyeol. “You’re very warm. And comfortable. And I’m cold. So, I’m thinking that, for reasons of personal health, we should stick together tonight.” He couldn’t meet Chanyeol’s eyes, internally cringing at his poor excuse of an excuse.

“You want to stay the night?” Chanyeol asked with a playful smile.

“Yes,” Baekhyun replied before he could even think.

“And who am I to deny you your personal heater, official meal partner, _and_ boyfriend?” Chanyeol asked rhetorically as he unlocked his door, ushering Baekhyun in under his arm much like he did that night a month ago when Baekhyun locked himself out of his apartment after yelling at Kyungsoo.

Despite how often Baekhyun and Chanyeol hung out, it wasn’t often they’d stayed at each other’s apartments, most of the time they went out. So when Baekhyun walked in Chanyeol’s living room, he paused and took in how it looked the same as last time he’d been here, though there were textbooks, sheets, and an open laptop on the once clean coffee table.

“Come back, I’ll grab you something to sleep in.” Baekhyun followed Chanyeol down the hallway back towards his bedroom, hesitating in the doorway, like last time.

“Just a shirt and a sweatshirt is fine,” Baekhyun spoke up while Chanyeol was searching through a drawer. “I don’t usually like sleeping in pants, if that’s okay.”

“Only if it’s okay that I don’t like sleeping in a shirt.” Chanyeol shot back, to which Baekhyun nodded and smiled.

Chanyeol pulled out one of his shirts and grabbed a large sweatshirt out of the small closet for Baekhyun, who accepted them with an appreciative smile. He stripped out of his (Chanyeol’s) denim jacket and shirt quickly, pulling on Chanyeol’s giant t-shirt before the taller turned back around.

“And, if it wasn’t obvious, you’re sleeping in my bed this time.”

“I slept in your bed last time, too.” Baekhyun reminded him, chucking his balled-up shirt at his boyfriend’s head. “Or don’t you remember carrying me from the couch and down the hallway?”

“I do.” Chanyeol walked over and scooped Baekhyun up. “And I’m going to do it again.”

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun shrieked, his hands wrapping around the redhead’s neck. “Put me down.”

“Okay.” Chanyeol, quite literally, _dropped_ Baekhyun on the side of the bed and climbed over him, landing on the other side. “Happy?”

 _Yes._ Baekhyun smiled and curled against Chanyeol’s side, pulling the comforter up over them. Chanyeol reached over and turned out the light.

“Thank you,” Baekhyun whispered, his voice slightly slurred from leaning against Chanyeol’s chest. He closed his eyes.

Chanyeol bent down and kissed the crown of Baekhyun’s head, tightened his arm around Baekhyun’s waist, and joined his boyfriend in sleep.

 

* * *

 

“Motherfucker.” Baekhyun rolled over and struggled to pull his arm from Chanyeol’s octopus grip on him, reaching blindly for his phone on the nightstand. Chanyeol groaned at the disturbance and latched himself to Baekhyun’s back.

Baekhyun looked at the caller id, confused, and then answered the phone. “Dr. Jung?”

“ _Baekhyun, good morning.”_ Dr. Jung’s voice came through the speaker. _“Are we still on for our meeting?”_

Meeting…meeting… _meeting!_

_Shit._

“Yes!” Baekhyun elbowed Chanyeol in the gut and rolled out of bed when his boyfriend’s arms loosened, stumbling around and searching for where he’d dropped his jeans last night. “Yes, of course.” He found them and turned to look at the clock. He had 30 minutes. “I’ll see you soon.”

He could make it.

Baekhyun hung up and pulled his jeans on, jumping a couple times to get them on as quick as he could.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Chanyeol asked, voice still raspy from sleep, and he rolled over to watch the pianist get dressed in a rushed sort of panic.

“I forgot, I have a meeting with my piano professor to review sheet music for an upcoming competition.” Baekhyun tore off the shirt he’d slept in and began digging through Chanyeol’s drawers for a clean one. “I totally forgot.”

“Why the hell did you schedule a meeting on a Saturday morning?” Chanyeol asked, pulling the covers up and curling up on the bed.

“Because I didn’t think I’d be going out last night.” Baekhyun shot back. “I always schedule my meetings on Saturdays, and then I spend the day in the practice room since no one is ever there.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled on his shoes.

“Shit, I’m not gonna make it.” Baekhyun searched through his pockets for his house keys. “The trains run on a different schedule on Saturdays. Shit, shit, _shit_.”

“I’ll drive you.” Chanyeol pushed the covers back and stood up. “Go grab your stuff, I’ll get dressed and meet you in the hallway.

“Really?”

“Go, or I’m going to get back in bed.” Chanyeol shoved his pajama pants down his legs and pulled a pair of black, ripped skinnies on instead.

“You’re actually the best.” Baekhyun turned and ran out of Chanyeol’s apartment, hurriedly unlocking his own door and shoving his lesson notebook, his Liszt and Chopin books, and his scale-technical book in his backpack. He pulled the bag on and shoved his keys in his pocket, and by the time he was back in the hallway Chanyeol was waiting for him, looking all too put together for having rolled out of bed three minutes ago.

“You’re not allowed to look this good at 8 in the morning.” Baekhyun crinkled his nose and looked down at his own jeans from last night and Chanyeol’s shirt. “It’s not fair.”

“You know what else isn’t fair?” Chanyeol asked as they both jogged towards the stairs. “You scheduling meetings at 8 in the morning. You’re cutting into our morning cuddle time. This can _not_ happen again for the safety of this relationship.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll try and schedule the rest in the afternoon for you and your lazy ass.” They climbed in Chanyeol’s jeep and the redhead pulled out of the parking lot and made a right, starting the ten-minute drive to their university. Baekhyun glanced at the clock. His meeting was in seventeen minutes. He could make it.

“Oh, here.” Chanyeol reached back and felt around the backseat for a moment. He pulled forward a sweatshirt and handed it to Baekhyun. “I always keep a couple in the car, just in case. And you didn’t grab a jacket this morning.”

“I was a little rushed, okay.” Baekhyun pulled the hoodie on and burrowed in its warmth, keeping his hands inside the extra-long sleeves and hitting Chanyeol with one of his sweater-paws. “Thanks.”

“Sure.” Chanyeol switched lanes, getting ready to make a left into the university’s grounds and head for the music building. “How long is your meeting?”

“It’s scheduled for an hour, but it’ll really just take as long as it takes for us to settle on a competition piece,” Baekhyun responded, opening his backpack and flipping through his books. “Dr. Jung probably wants me to do Chopin, but I’ve never played a Liszt in competition before.”

“Let me know when you get done, we can go grab breakfast or something.” Chanyeol glanced over at Baekhyun and then made the turn, making another direct right to follow the road to the music building.

“Yeah, that sounds great.” Baekhyun smiled at Chanyeol and zipped his bag back up as his boyfriend pulled to a stop in front of his building. Baekhyun glanced at the clock. Eight minutes. He was going to make it.

“Thanks for driving me.” Baekhyun smiled, and Chanyeol nodded at him with a smile. “Of course. Now get your ass out of my car and to your meeting. Don’t be late or I’m going to have gotten up early for _nothing_.”

 

* * *

2 months later

* * *

 

“Do you want to stop?” Chanyeol asked a bit breathlessly, but he wanted to make sure Baekhyun was okay. He placed a gentle hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder and pushed the pianist so he was sitting up, straddling Chanyeol’s hips with his knees planted on the bed. “We can stop if this is too much.”

“No, no I—I want this. With you. Uh,” Baekhyun got all shy then and ran both hands anxiously through his hair, a habit which Chanyeol found unbelievably endearing. “I trust you. Like, a lot. And, uh, yeah.”

“So you want to keep going?” Chanyeol clarified.

“Yes.” Baekhyun nodded with finality, as though setting his mind. “Yes, let’s—yeah. Just, not too fast?”

“Let me know if you’re ever uncomfortable, or you don’t like what I’m doing, okay?” Chanyeol said seriously, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on the sliver of exposed skin from where Baekhyun’s shirt had ridden up. “I won’t be upset, I promise. Just tell me.”

Baekhyun nodded again. “Okay.”

Slowly, Chanyeol traced over Baekhyun’s sides until his hand rested on the back of Baekhyun’s neck, and he pulled him back down for a kiss. His boyfriend shuddered when their lips reconnected, and his left forearm was braced on the mattress above Chanyeol’s shoulder while his right couldn’t help but slip under Chanyeol’s shirt and trace over his firm stomach, ghosting over each of his abs.

The hand that wasn’t on the back of Baekhyun’s neck rested on his lower back, his fingers resting on the warm skin above the waistline of his jeans. His hand grabbed at the hem of the musician’s t-shirt a few minutes later, when Chanyeol could feel Baekhyun start to get impatient, his fingers pressing roughly into his abdomen and wrapping around the side, squeezing the taut flesh.

“Can I pull this off?” Chanyeol asked against Baekhyun’s lips, tugging gently at his shirt.

Baekhyun nodded and sat up, and Chanyeol slowly lifted the thin fabric up over his head, dropping it somewhere on the floor. Automatically, Chanyeol’s hands came to rest in the curve of Baekhyun’s hips, and he couldn’t help but massage at the smooth, pale skin. Baekhyun’s nipples were peaked, which Chanyeol took as a good sign. That meant that, even if Baekhyun was still a bit nervous, he was enjoying what was happening. His reaction wasn’t forced, it was natural, and that made Chanyeol very, _very_ happy.

“You’re so beautiful.” Chanyeol sat up and pressed a kiss to Baekhyun’s jaw, and down his neck and across his chest. “Look at you.” He said in awe, his breath fanning over Baekhyun’s right nipple. The pianist mewled adorably before biting his lip and hiding his face in the crook of Chanyeol’s neck, embarrassed.

“Whoa, hey.” Chanyeol used one of his hands to cradle Baekhyun’s cheek and pull him back. “Are you still okay?”

“Yeah, I just—that was embarrassing.” Baekhyun couldn’t meet Chanyeol’s eyes. “God, I’m like some fucking _virgin_ and you’re so experienced and it’s—”

“It’s okay, Baek, really.” Chanyeol brushed his hair back from his face and settled his other arm around the curve of Baekhyun’s back holding him close, but not too tight. “You’re okay.”

“I’m not going to measure up,” Baekhyun said then. “You know exactly what you’re doing and I know next to nothing.”

“It’s not about measuring up.” Chanyeol stroked his cheek with his thumb soothingly. “There are no levels to this. It’s just you, and me, and this thing we’re doing right now. No expectations. I don’t expect anything from you, you know that.”

Baekhyun let out a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. Sorry, me and my insecure ass are out here ruining the moment as usual.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Chanyeol smiled encouragingly. “This is new to you, of course I figured you’d be nervous. That’s why I’m trying to make sure we go nice and slow, okay? No rushing into things.”

“Okay.”

“Now, do you want to keep going, or was this far enough for today?” Chanyeol asked, the hand on Baekhyun’s back rubbing small circles in the curve of his spine.

“No, let—let’s keep going.” Baekhyun’s hands found the hem of Chanyeol’s shirt and pushed it up a few inches, enough to have room to put both of his hands on Chanyeol’s stomach. “But, can you, um…”

“What do you want me to do?” Chanyeol asked quietly, not wanting to rush Baekhyun but wanting to know exactly what to do to help make him feel better.

“Can I take this off? I just—it feels weird being the only one without a shirt.” Baekhyun pushed Chanyeol’s shirt up a few more inches, revealing the bottom two of his boyfriend’s six abs.

Chanyeol nodded, pulling back to give Baekhyun room to pull his shirt up over his head. He tossed it over the side of the bed with his own shirt and sighed, his hands automatically tracing along the thick black lines that lined Chanyeol’s torso.

“I really, _really_ love your tattoos,” Baekhyun whispered, his voice suddenly very hoarse. “They suit you so well, and they all look so nice.”

“I’m glad.” Chanyeol let his eyes close as Baekhyun’s fingertips ghosted along his chest and over his shoulders, following the thick ink all the way back down his forearms. Baekhyun bit his lip for a moment before asking, “can I try something?”

“Sure.” Chanyeol nodded, resting his hands back on Baekhyun’s hips. “Whatever you want.”

Baekhyun leaned forward towards Chanyeol’s shoulder and paused when he was about an inch out. His eyes flicked up to Chanyeol, who nodded encouragingly, and then the pianist leaned forward and lightly kissed Chanyeol’s shoulder, right on a tattoo of a sun. Baekhyun kept going up, pressing his feather-light kisses over Chanyeol’s collarbone and halfway up his neck. Then, mimicking what he’s had done to him before, Baekhyun carefully took a bit of Chanyeol’s skin between his teeth and sucked.

Below him, Chanyeol was shivering, his hands tightening on Baekhyun’s hips as the blood rushed to the surface on his neck. He groaned when Baekhyun continued to massage the abused skin lightly with his teeth, and Baekhyun pulled back, pressed one more kiss to his neck, and then continued working his way up.

Baekhyun pulled back after he’d followed the single black tendril up behind Chanyeol’s ear and pressed a final kiss to the very tip, and Chanyeol immediately wrapped a hand around the back of Baekhyun’s neck and pulled him back down for a heated kiss.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Chanyeol asked, working his way down Baekhyun’s neck with hot, open-mouthed kisses once he’d had his fill of his boyfriend’s lips.

“I just kind of winged it.” Baekhyun’s head fell back and one of his hands came up to tangle in Chanyeol’s hair. “Was it good?”

“Oh, _baby_ ,” Chanyeol worked his own mark into the skin just above Baekhyun’s collarbone. “It was _so_ good.”

Baekhyun jerked and instinctively pulled on Chanyeol’s hair when his boyfriend thrust his hips up and then immediately pulled his hand back. “Shit, shit I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“Who, hey, it’s okay.” Chanyeol reached over and grabbed Baekhyun’s hand, which he was now holding tight to his chest. “It’s fine, I liked that.”

“Really?”

Chanyeol nodded once. “Yeah, but don’t put it back right now.” Baekhyun pulled his hand back from where it had been about to tangle in Chanyeol’s hair again, confused. “Can I flip us over?” He asked, his hands coming up to wrap warmly around the back of Baekhyun’s neck and his thumbs rested on his cheeks.

“You want me…” Baekhyun trailed off, his eyes on the mattress. Every time they’d made out so far, Baekhyun had always been in Chanyeol’s lap, he’d always been the one mostly in control. Since he was the inexperienced one, Chanyeol had told him he liked having Baekhyun on top, so that Baekhyun can control what they do so they don’t go too far.

“On the bed,” Chanyeol affirmed, his eyes studying Baekhyun’s for a reaction. “If you don’t want to I get it, and we can stay right here, where you’re comfortable.”

“Okay.” Baekhyun looked back up at Chanyeol and shot him a small smile. “I trust you.”

“Okay.” Chanyeol helped Baekhyun slide off his lap and rolled them over, so Chanyeol was now laying in between Baekhyun’s legs. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah, just…I’ve never done _this_ before.” Baekhyun looked down at their position and then back up at Chanyeol’s face, blushing a bit.

“Let me know if you want to stop, okay?” Chanyeol waited for Baekhyun’s nod before he leaned down and kissed him again. He rolled his hips down a couple times and Baekhyun let out a moan, his hands tangling back in Chanyeol’s hair.

“Do that again,” Baekhyun said breathlessly.

Chanyeol complied, relishing in the drawn-out moan released from Baekhyun’s parted lips, his eyes closed and his head back against the bed, relaxed. “You’ve never done this, have you?”

“No.” Baekhyun bit his lip nervously and Chanyeol grabbed one of his hands, interlocking their fingers and pressing them into the mattress by his head. “But I’m okay.” He paused. “It’s just…”

“What?”

“We’ve never gone this far before.” Baekhyun could feel his erection straining against the tight denim of his jeans, and one look at Chanyeol showed him that the taller had the same issue. They always stopped after making out, _maybe_ a little hand action underneath a shirt, but Chanyeol had never wanted to push Baekhyun too far, so they hadn’t gone further than that yet. “I, uh, I want to keep going.”

Chanyeol cocked his head, confused, and Baekhyun let out a breath, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted. “Um…I want to, like, _keep going_.”

Chanyeol’s face brightened in realization. “You want to _finish_ , is what you’re saying.”

“I think so.” Baekhyun nodded. “Yeah. But, like this.”

“Sure. Yeah, we can do that.” Chanyeol leaned down so he was hovering just a few inches above Baekhyun’s lips. “Yeah. I just need to—hold on.” Chanyeol shifted his position so he was straddling one of Baekhyun’s thigs, and his was between Baekhyun’s legs. “Okay, yeah. Are you sure?”

Baekhyun nodded and threaded his free hand in Chanyeol’s hair again, pulling him down for a kiss. Chanyeol started thrusting and rolling his hips along Baekhyun’s thigh, and his own thigh was rubbing up against Baekhyun’s erection. The first couple times Baekhyun jerked, but he never told Chanyeol to stop so he’d kept going.

Chanyeol came first with a groan, and then he looked down at his light-wash skinny jeans and shook his head when he saw the dark trail running down the left leg from where his cockhead had been. “I didn’t think that through.”

Baekhyun let out a short laugh, thanking the heavens that today he’d chosen his black jeans, but his victory was cut short when Chanyeol began palming smoothly at his erection, getting him closer to his own release.

“Chan-Chanyeol.” Baekhyun gasped, both of his hands digging into Chanyeol’s shoulder blades. “I think—I think I’m close.”

“Okay, Baek, you’re okay. Just let it go.” Chanyeol dropped his head to kiss and nibble along his neck, and Baekhyun came with a startled cry, his fingernails raking down Chanyeol’s back.

Chanyeol continued palming him through his release, stopping once Baekhyun collapsed against the bed, breathing labored and forehead sweaty. He rolled sideways, off of Baekhyun and flopped next to him.

“Are—was that okay?” Chanyeol asked, his head looking sideways at his boyfriend.

“Yeah.” Baekhyun smiled. “More than okay. It was—thank you.”

“Of course.” Chanyeol smiled at him and pressed a light kiss to his lips before rolling off the bed and walking over to his dresser. “Do you want to shower?”

“Mhm.” Baekhyun pushed himself to sit up and nodded.

“You can go first.” Chanyeol pulled out one of his t-shirts and a small pair of briefs for his boyfriend to change into. Baekhyun hopped off the bed and smiled.

“Thank you.” He said again. Chanyeol cupped his cheeks and kissed him sweetly.

“You don’t have to thank me.” He said when they pulled away. “It’s what I do for you.”

“Well, still.” Baekhyun backed up towards the bathroom. “Thank you.” He ran into the doorframe with his back and winced, and went right back to shy, awkward pianist. Chanyeol smiled fondly and raised his eyebrows, watching Baekhyun struggle to enter the bathroom.

“Shit—I, um, I’m just gonna— _ow, fuck_ —take a shower now.” He slammed the door, yelling a muffled “shut up” when Chanyeol couldn’t help but start laughing.

“You can do whatever you want,” Chanyeol said when Baekhyun emerged from the bathroom and Chanyeol grabbed his clothes to go shower next. “Except leave, you’re not allowed to do that.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Baekhyun responded, towel drying his hair. Chanyeol willed his eyes up and away from Baekhyun’s exposed thighs under his shirt and cleared his throat.

“Anyway, I can make dinner or something when I’m out,” Chanyeol said. “Or you can go to bed, or watch tv, or whatever.”

“I’ll figure something out.” Baekhyun smiled. “Go shower.”

In the end, Baekhyun figured out Chanyeol’s go-to dish from the popular noodle place down the street from a take-out menu on the counter, and he placed an order. He then turned on the tv in the living room and curled up on the couch under a blanket, listening and waiting for Chanyeol to get out of the shower.

“Hey.” Baekhyun smiled when Chanyeol, skin still warm and damp, ran a hand through his hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“Shove over.” Chanyeol lifted up the blanket and sat down, wrapping his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders and encouraging him to curl up beside him. “Is there anything you want to do?”

“You can just stay here until dinner gets here.” Baekhyun threw his arm over Chanyeol’s waist and rested his head on his shoulder, humming contently when Chanyeol’s arm crooked at the elbow to be able to lightly scratch at the back of his head.

“I see.”

“What?”

“You’re the type to cuddle after sex,” Chanyeol said amusedly, smiling.

“This isn’t cuddling. This is—this is…” Baekhyun pulled his arm back and started to roll away from Chanyeol. “Fuck off.”

“No, no, no, no,” Chanyeol reached over and manhandled Baekhyun back into his original position. “Get back here.”

“No— _stop it!_ ” Baekhyun laughed when Chanyeol’s fingers dug into his sides, tickling him into submission. “Stop, stop, no!” Baekhyun couldn’t stop laughing, and Chanyeol didn’t let up until Baekhyun relaxed enough to let Chanyeol fold him back into his side.

They laid together on the couch, watching a rerun episode of _Hello Counselor_ until there was a knock on the door. Baekhyun turned and smiled brightly up at Chanyeol. “You can get it.”

“Oh, I can, can I? Can I pay too?”

“Well, since you offered.”

 

* * *

Another 2 months later

* * *

 

“Are you sure?” Chanyeol asked again, gloves on, cleaning the metal tip of the ink gun.

Baekhyun fidgeted in the vinyl chair for a moment and nodded. “Yeah.”

Chanyeol had been all his firsts.

His first love. His first real relationship. His first major support. His first time, his first confidant, the first person after Jongdae who sat with him and calmed him down through a panic attack. It seemed only right that he should be a part of his first tattoo, too.

His fingers tapped impatiently on the arm of the chair while Chanyeol finished preparing everything he’d need for the appointment.

“Okay, so,” Chanyeol set down the stencil they’d created a few minutes ago and sat down on his stool. “Crescent moon, _here_.” He picked up Baekhyun’s hand and thumbed over his left wrist, right over where his pressure point was on the outside. “Right?”

“Yes.” Baekhyun nodded once, his eyes on Chanyeol’s thumb. “Fuck yes.”

Chanyeol laughed. “Okay, let’s get this going.” He rolled the sleeve of Baekhyun’s hoodie up to his elbow and pressed his hand onto the short table, cleaning his wrist and placing the stencil where Baekhyun wanted it. He copied the stencil onto Baekhyun’s wrist and, after checking one more time that that was where he wanted it, Chanyeol grabbed his ink gun and took a deep breath, getting into his element.

“Ready?”

“Just ink me, Park.” Chanyeol began tracing the outline of the moon on Baekhyun’s wrist, chuckling when Baekhyun winced a couple of times.

“Relax, Baek.” Chanyeol murmured, bent down over the table. “Deep breaths. I don’t think you were this tense when we had sex for the first time.” He paused and gave Baekhyun a look, who glared back.

“You’re waiting for me to say something about you _prepping me_ so you can make some sort of crude joke,” He rolled his eyes when Chanyeol raised his eyebrows suggestively, “but it’s not gonna happen. Keep going, I’m paying for this.”

Chanyeol snorted, returning the needle to Baekhyun’s skin. “No, you’re not.”

“I’m not?”

“This one’s on me.”

Baekhyun turned his head and watched Chanyeol carefully trace over the stencil dye, sitting back against the chair. “My mom’s going to kill me.”

“Oh, I haven’t met her yet.” Chanyeol cleared his throat. “How about we _not_ tell her your boyfriend was the one who gave you your first tattoo?”

“I was going to say that if you didn’t.” Baekhyun sat quietly for a few more minutes while Chanyeol worked before starting to hum absentmindedly.

Chanyeol listened and smiled as Baekhyun hummed through some of his scales, and then one of his competition pieces, his right hand drumming the notes on his leg.

“Done.” Chanyeol turned his gun off and set it on the table. He lifted Baekhyun’s hand up and inspected it for a second before pulling back, satisfied, and letting Baekhyun get a good look at it.

“Wow.” Baekhyun lifted his right hand up, reaching forward towards his wrist, aching to trace the black crescent moon and corresponding dots filling in the rest of the circle.

“Baek.” Chanyeol reminded him gently.

“Right, sorry.” Baekhyun dropped his hand back into his lap. “But, _wow_.”

“You like it?” Chanyeol asked, pulling out the clear wrap and bandage to cover Baekhyun’s wrist.

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s—wow.” Chanyeol chuckled and pulled off his gloves.

“Okay, here’s a list on treatment and all that.” Chanyeol jotted down a few extra notes on the back of the brochure they gave to everyone. “Not that you really need this since you practically live with me anyway. This is more for my piece of mind.”

He handed the brochure to Baekhyun. “I’ll help keep an eye on it, and let you know when you’re safe to remove the bandage.”

Baekhyun nodded, his eyes skimming over the brochure. “Gotcha.”

“What else are you up to today?” Chanyeol asked, standing up and pulling a new pair of gloves on to clean his needles and throw away what needed to be tossed.

Baekhyun hummed. “I’m meeting up with Jongdae to get the sheet music for his audition piece, then I’m meeting up with my professor to review the judges’ comments from my mock jury, and then I’ll probably just be in the practice room for a couple hours.”

“Can I meet you there when I get off?” Chanyeol asked, replacing his gun on his desk.

“Sure.” Baekhyun smiled and got up from the chair, taking Chanyeol’s hand and allowing his boyfriend to lead him out the door. “I’ll let you know what room I’m in when I’m there.”

“Great.” Chanyeol pressed a fleeting kiss to Baekhyun’s cheek and tugged him into the lobby.

“How’d it turn out?” The guy at the desk asked when the couple walked up to him. Chanyeol looked expectantly down at Baekhyun.

“Great.” Baekhyun smiled up at him. The guy looked at Chanyeol. “You gave him the whole lay down, right?”

“I’m good at my job, yes.” Chanyeol shot back, rolling his eyes.

“Great. Okay, then, your total’s gonna be—”

“ _Ah._ No, no, go away.” Chanyeol turned Baekhyun around by the shoulders and pushed him out the door. “Take it out of my paycheck.” He yelled back at the guy behind the counter.

 _“Chanyeol.”_ Baekhyun groaned, pushing back against his boyfriend’s hold. “This is your job. Let me pay for it.”

“You can pay me when we get home.” Chanyeol responded cheekily, giving Baekhyun a light kiss. “I’ll see you later.”

“Thanks again.” Baekhyun looked at his wrist and then flashed Chanyeol a bright smile.

“I’m glad you like it.” Chanyeol kissed him again. “I—”

“Hey, lovebirds!” Jongdae yelled, poking his head out from his car window. “You’re like, goals and everything, I’m literally swooning, but I need to steal Mozart over there!”

“I hate him.” Baekhyun nodded with finality. “I really, really hate—”

“Isn’t he paying you for the audition?”

“Okay, I just kind of hate him.” Baekhyun conceded. “Anyway, I’ll see you later?”

Chanyeol hummed and kissed Baekhyun once more. “Yep.”

Baekhyun paused, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Chanyeol kissed him the way he always did when they said their “I love you’s,” hard, desperate, and possessive. Baekhyun loved it almost as much as he loved him.

“Can you guys stop making out long enough for Mr. Pianist to get his ass in my car?”

“Oh my god, _shut up!”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baekhyun's finally ready to trust Chanyeol with everything and bare himself completely.
> 
> Now, if only he could tell him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no excuse for this besides self indulgement

Baekhyun was _this_ close to asking Jongdae to slam the keyboard cover down on his fingers.

 _Nothing_ was right.

He continued fumbling over the same key change-triplet transition in his recital piece—which he was performing in _two weeks_ —and his right three fingers were stiff and not sitting right on the keys, no matter how many times he stretched them out and slowed the tempo down.

And, worst of all—Baekhyun hadn’t seen Chanyeol in _three days_ since the occasions when Baekhyun was home Chanyeol would be at work or working on a project he had due with a few people in his business seminar.

Baekhyun’s phone vibrated a couple times in his backpack and he abandoned the keys, sliding over on the bench to ruffle through the front pocket until he had the device in his hand. He ran one hand through his hair while the other one unlocked his phone, a smile on his face.

Somehow, even if they didn’t see each other, Chanyeol knew _exactly_ what Baekhyun needed.

_I’m sorry we’ve been so busy—I miss you!! You have an extra lesson today, right? If so, then good luck! You’ll do great, just like you always do. Can I pick you up after? We can get takeout and head home for dinner. Let me know! Love you._

Baekhyun smiled, pecking out a quick reply and letting Chanyeol know what time he got done and then gathered up his music and headed out of the practice room, heading down the hallway to his professor’s room for his extra two-hour lesson.

Fun.

 

* * *

 

It was not fun.

Baekhyun walked out of his lesson with strict instructions from his professor to not practice tomorrow and spend the night icing his hand and doing certain stretches to open up his muscles and give him a break. He’d been practicing extra the past couple weeks, overstressing his hand in what could be the earliest stages of dystonia.

Upset, panicked, and just plain exhausted Baekhyun pulled out his phone after putting his books in his music locker and shouldering his backpack. He couldn’t help but smile—just seeing Chanyeol’s name in his notifications made him happy. He adjusted the straps of his backpack and then opened his phone, deciding to call Chanyeol—perhaps he was a _bit_ paranoid that typing would be too much for his fingers.

Could you blame him?

 _“Baby, hey.”_ Chanyeol answered on the second ring. _“Done?”_

“Yep.” Baekhyun nodded in greeting to a couple of the other music majors as he passed, heading for the door. “Are you still at the library?”

 _“I’m just pulling into the parking lot, actually. Hold on…”_ There was silence for a second, Chanyeol let out a short breath, and then he was back. _“I’m parked by the door.”_

“I’m on my way out. Hey, ‘Dae.” Baekhyun waved at his friend and pushed the door open with his back, backing out of the building. “Okay, I’m out, and…” a set of headlights flashed once and Baekhyun smiled, “and I see you. Can I hang up now?”

 _“Nope.”_ Chanyeol rolled his window down and leaned out on his arm, phone still pressed against his ear. Baekhyun raised his eyebrows. _“I have to make sure you’re safe the whole walk over.”_

“’Yeol, I literally see you.” Baekhyun laughed. “I’m fine.”

 _“And what kind of boyfriend would I be if I left you to walk to my car alone in the middle of the night?”_ Baekhyun could see Chanyeol shake his head. _“I’m not an asshole, Baek.”_

“And they say chivalry is dead.” Baekhyun walked up to the car window and leaned against the door. “Can I hang up now?”

Chanyeol dropped his phone. “I suppose so. Hi.”

“Hi.” Baekhyun smiled. He leaned up for a short kiss and then walked around, tossing his backpack in the floor of the passenger seat and then sliding in after it. “How was your day?”

“Fine.” He hesitated a split second too long and Chanyeol raised his eyebrows questioningly as he looked to the left, pulling out of campus and onto the main road.

“What happened?”

“Nothing, just a long day, that’s all.” Baekhyun absentmindedly rubbed his right hand and Chanyeol picked up on the movement.

“Everything okay?”

“Just sore.” Baekhyun dropped his hand and drummed his fingers rhythmically against his thigh. “My professor wants me to ice it tonight.”

“It’s nothing serious, is it?” Chanyeol had heard lots of Baekhyun’s fun little panic moments and mental breakdowns—including the ones about different injuries that were common in musicians that he was so terrified of.

“It won’t be if I ice it.” Baekhyun leaned his head back against the headrest with a sigh. Chanyeol reached over the console and took Baekhyun’s left hand, raising it up and pressing a kiss to it.

“You’ll be fine.” He promised softly, lowering their connected hands to rest in Baekhyun’s lap. The pianist leaned his head against Chanyeol’s arm. “I’ll make dinner and you can spend the night relaxing.”

“But I wanted to cook with you tonight.” Baekhyun couldn’t help but whine. He was going to help Chanyeol out in the kitchen a bit—something they’d both grown to enjoy while Chanyeol taught Baekhyun a bit of how to make his favorite dishes.

“Another night.” Chanyeol let out a light laugh. “Can’t have you getting hurt now, Mozart.”

“Aren’t you gonna drop that?”

“What, you prefer _baby?”_

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”

“Well, too bad.”

 

* * *

 

“I don’t know what you’re so stressed about, Baek.” Jongdae set down the extra copy of Baekhyun’s recital piece on the music stand with a sigh. “You’re playing really well. I like what you’ve done with the dynamics, and your phrasing is better than when you played it for me last month.”

“You’re overplaying.” Junmyeon chided, standing up straight from where he’d been leaning on the back of Jongdae’s chair, following along the seven-minute piece Baekhyun had performed for them. “That’s the only reason you’re so shaky right now. Take a break, and you’ll be fine.”

“No, it’s just…there’s got to be something else that I’m doing wrong.” Baekhyun flipped through his personal copy, skimming the notes. “It’s not good enough yet.”

“But it _is.”_ Junmyeon insisted.

“Baekhyun,” Jongdae said his name slowly, carefully. “Is something wrong?”

“What? No, nothing—nothing’s wrong. Why do you ask?” Baekhyun kept his eyes on his music and his right hand began doing one of the sixteenth-note runs on the fourth page.

“Because I know you, and I know your weird-ass little habits when you start overworking yourself. What is it?” Jongdae slid off his chair and onto the piano bench next to Baekhyun, shoving him over a couple inches so they both fit. Junmyeon took Jongdae’s chair around to the other side of the bench and sat in it, sandwiching Baekhyun between them so he couldn’t run off like he had a tendency to do.

“Nothing.” Baekhyun insisted again, flipping the page. His right hand was unsteady, his rhythm was everywhere. Jongdae and Junmyeon stayed silent, and when Baekhyun finished the phrase he held the chord out until the sound faded to a dull buzz, barely there. “I have a question.”

“What’s up?” Jongdae nudged him with his shoulder.

“How—this is embarrassing.” Baekhyun shook his head and leaned both his elbows on the piano, producing an ugly chord and burying his face in his hands. “I can’t do it.”

“We are the no-judging breakfast club.” Junmyeon reached over and put a comforting hand on Baekhyun’s knee. “What’s going on?”

“I just…” Baekhyun swallowed and ran both hands through his hair. “Promise not to tell anyone?” He looked between the two. “Please?”

“Of course, Baek.” Junmyeon nodded.

“No telling,” Jongdae swore. “Now _spill.”_

Baekhyun took a breath and stared at the ceiling. “How do you tell your boyfriend you think you’re ready to have sex with him without making things weird?”

“I thought you guys have already had sex?” Jongdae leaned his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder.

“Sort of.” Baekhyun’s right hand began running up and down the piano again, playing his melodic minor scales—one way going up and different coming back down. “We’ve done some hand stuff, and he gave me a blowjob once, but—I think I’m ready to, like, _actually_ have sex with him.”

“All the way?” Junmyeon double-checked, and Baekhyun nodded. “Baek, that’s really cool! It’s great that you’ve found someone you feel like you can trust that much.”

“Have you brought it up before?” Jongdae asked. Baekhyun’s hand didn’t stop, and the scales continued in their ascending pattern.

“Not since that party when it kind of, almost happened.” Baekhyun shook his head and sighed. “I know he doesn’t want to rush me or anything, which is great, but I just feel ready to take the next step, you know?”

“It’s the natural progression of things, so of _course_ you are.” Jongdae sat up and smiled. “And you want to talk to him about it first.”

“I don’t really want to go in blind, and I don’t want to spring it on him, either. It’s not like it’ll be the first time we’ve seen each other naked or anything but—I don’t know. I’m being dumb.” His hand faltered and he skipped a note in the pattern, and then another ugly chord was played as Baekhyun slammed all five of his fingers down on the piano, hitting random keys. “Why is this so hard?”

“You’re not being dumb,” Junmyeon said softly. “This is a big deal, especially since you’ve never done it with anyone else.”

Baekhyun drummed his fingers on his thigh and nodded.

“I think it’s smart that you want to talk to him first,” Jongdae said. “I also don’t think you should stress about it. Just say that you need to talk to him about something important, and then tell him exactly what you want and how you’re feeling.”

“Chanyeol’s a great guy,” Junmyeon added. “I’m sure he’ll sit down and listen to whatever you have to say. He’ll understand where you’re coming from, for sure. Does he know that you’re…?”

“A virgin?” Baekhyun let out a short breath. “Yeah.”

“We’ve all been virgins once.” Junmyeon reminded him. “We were all nervous the first time—”

“Speak for yourself.”

“Jongdae, shut up.” Junmyeon smiled sweetly at Baekhyun. “Even Chanyeol.”

“But he’s so…” Jongdae took Baekhyun’s hand and squeezed it, and Baekhyun let out a breath, relaxing. “He knows exactly what he’s doing and it’s going to be so _embarrassing_ for me. But I’m scared that if we don’t have sex soon then he’s going to get bored and leave—”

“I’m gonna stop you right there, chief.” Jongdae cut him off. “You shouldn’t be doing this just because you’re worried about _him._ This is a big deal for you, and he should understand that.”

“No, no! I—I _do_ want to. For me. I’m ready, I just…” Baekhyun leaned his head on Jongdae’s shoulder and squeezed his hand again. “I’m scared I’m not going to be good enough and he’s going to leave.” He finished in a soft voice.

“I’m going to tell you something that I shouldn’t even know but I feel like you should hear it.” Baekhyun turned his head to look at Junmyeon. “I was at the library the other day and I overheard him and another friend of his talking in the common area. His friend asked if you’d put out yet, and when Chanyeol said no the guy started egging him on asking why he hadn’t just fucked you yet.” Baekhyun tensed up and Jongdae leaned his chin on Baekhyun’s head. “And you know what Chanyeol said? He said he didn’t care that you guys hadn’t done it yet, that he’d wait until you were ready and he still loved you just the same, whether you guys were going to have sex that night or a year from then.”

“I’m really, really lucky,” Baekhyun said softly after a moment of sitting in silence.

“You are,” Jongdae affirmed with a smile. “Now go talk to your prince charming, Baek. And if he says anything shitty let me know and I’ll beat his ass.”

“You’re the best.” Baekhyun took Junmyeon’s hand with his empty one and squeezed them both at the same time. “Both of you.”

Junmyeon said “it’s nothing” at the same time Jongdae said “I know.” Both Baekhyun and Junmyeon shot him a look, and Jongdae shrugged.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Baekhyun shook off both of their hands, flipping his phone over on the piano stand and checking his notifications. Chanyeol’s name was at the top. “We’re having dinner tonight. Maybe I’ll talk to him, get it over with, you know?” Baekhyun muttered more to himself than the others, pecking out a short reply to his boyfriend.

“I’ll keep my phone on. Call me if you need me, yeah?” Jongdae stood up and picked up his backpack.

“Thanks, guys, really.” Baekhyun stood up and gathered his music, slipping his books into his binder and holding it in the crook of his elbow.

“Of course. Let us know how it turns out?” Junmyeon opened the door for them, smiling at Baekhyun when he walked out of the room.

“You got it.” Baekhyun waved and walked in the opposite direction, back to his music locker to put his books away and grab his backpack.

He met Chanyeol in the parking lot and they picked up Thai for dinner, sitting on the couch together to watch a rerun of a stupid drama until they finished eating and Baekhyun ended up between Chanyeol’s legs, leaning back against his chest and waiting for the show to finish while simultaneously building up the courage to have _the talk._

“Hey.” Baekhyun ventured when the show was finished and Chanyeol had the remote in his hand, flipping through the channels to find something else they could watch so he could put off his homework for a while longer. “Can I talk to you about something?” He fiddled with the fingers of his boyfriend’s left hand which was void of the remote.

“Sure.” Instantly, Chanyeol muted the tv and set the remote down, wrapping his now empty hand around Baekhyun’s waist. “What’s up?”

“I just…” Baekhyun cleared his throat and kept his eyes downcast on Chanyeol’s hand in his. “I, uh, have something to say, that’s all.”

“You know I’ll always listen to anything you need to say, Baek.” Chanyeol pressed a light kiss to the side of Baekhyun’s neck. “What is it?”

“Well, I love you.” Baekhyun swallowed. “And we’ve been dating for almost five months now.”

“All true things.” Chanyeol slipped in. “I love you too, for the record.”

“Noted.” Baekhyun smiled—he couldn’t help it. Not when Chanyeol said he loved him. “And, uh, I just…” He took a deep breath. “I think I’m ready to take the next step.”

“The next step.” Chanyeol echoed softly. His right arm tightened around Baekhyun’s waist. “Care to elaborate for me a bit, baby?”

“Sex.” Baekhyun blurted after a moment’s pause. “Uh, all the way. You know. If you want to, of course. I’m not saying that you have to just because I think I’m ready because it’s up to you too and I love you and I want you to be comfortable but of course if you don’t want to I’ll understand and—”

“Baekhyun, love, slow down.” Chanyeol dropped to kiss Baekhyun’s cheek. “It’s okay. Breathe.”

“Right. Sorry.” Baekhyun took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, relaxing a bit. “Anyway. That’s all I wanted to say.”

“Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Play it off like it’s no big deal.” Chanyeol laced both of Baekhyun’s hands under his and held them when he re-wrapped his hands around Baekhyun’s waist. “This is a big thing.”

“For me.” Baekhyun relaxed his head back on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “But you’ve done it before.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Chanyeol said seriously. “I love you. I’ve never been with someone in that way who I’ve had strong feelings for. It’s not just about doing it. There’s something special about doing it with someone you love. And if this is your first time I want to make it worth the wait, and I want to make you comfortable and happy, and I want to make you feel good. This is important to me too.”

“Really?” Baekhyun turned his head to the side, finally brave enough to look Chanyeol in the eye.

“Really.” Chanyeol leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to Baekhyun’s lips. “You’re really okay with doing this with me?”

Baekhyun nodded. “I really love you Chanyeol. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. And I really, _really_ don’t want to think about doing this with anyone else but you.”

“Well, I’m honored, Baek.” Chanyeol kissed him again. “Do you know when you want to do this?”

“I didn’t get that far,” Baekhyun admitted shyly. “Not tonight.”

“God no.” Chanyeol agreed. “I want to make it special for your first time. Let’s see…” He leaned his head back and hummed as he thought. “You have your recital, which I’m excited for, by the way, and I don’t want to take away from that at all.”

“I shouldn’t have even told you about it.” Baekhyun murmured. “I’m not good enough yet.”

“You’re going to do beautifully like you always do.” Chanyeol kissed the side of Baekhyun’s head and then leaned his own against it. “You know what? Let’s wait and talk about this after your performance. I don’t want to stress you over anything else since rehearsing is your priority right now.”

Baekhyun nodded after a few moments of silence, and then Chanyeol pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “I love you,” he murmured into the pianist’s soft hair. He settled back against the armrest of the couch again and picked up the remote from where he’d dropped it, turning the volume back up. Baekhyun settled back against his shoulder, arms still tight underneath Chanyeol’s on his waist. The redhead slid down a bit to make himself more comfortable, still holding Baekhyun to his chest, and settled in for them to catch the last half hour of some stupid movie.

Baekhyun was asleep in fifteen minutes.

Chanyeol was out by the time the credits started.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, there he is!”

Chanyeol would never forget the first time he saw Baekhyun in his performance tux. All polished and professional, suave and confident—he was like a different person the second his tie was in place. Baekhyun called it his superhero uniform, him and his alternate persona.

“ _It’s easier to pretend you know what you’re doing if you look the part.”_

“You did great, Baek!” Baekhyun smiled bashfully and shook his head.

“Thanks, ‘Dae.” Baekhyun nodded once before letting Chanyeol pull him to his chest.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“You played beautifully, as you always do.” Chanyeol bent down to press a light kiss to Baekhyun’s lips. “Like I _told you_ you would.”

“No one likes a know-it-all,” Baekhyun grumbled in response, pushing Chanyeol back. They both knew he didn’t mean it—that Baekhyun was actually really, really thankful. He was just really, _really_ bad at showing it. Chanyeol knew, though.

Chanyeol always knew.

“You guys are gross,” Jongdae complained when Chanyeol threw an arm over Baekhyun’s shoulders and tugged him into his side as the couple faced the rest of the group. “Seriously. Disgusting.”

“And what are you gonna do about it?” Baekhyun asked in response with a glare.

“I’m gonna—”

“Jongdae, shut up.” Junmyeon joined their little group. “Baekhyun, phenomenal job. Is that one your contest piece?”

“I think so.” Baekhyun cleared his throat, fidgeting a bit. “I have a final meeting with my overseer Monday, we’ll talk about it then.”

“If you compete with that piece you’ll get first for sure.” Junmyeon nodded with an encouraging smile. “I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you later?”

“Bye, ‘Myeon.” Baekhyun shot him a smile as his friend walked away, his arm wrapping around Chanyeol’s waist to hold him closer. The move didn’t go unnoticed by Jongdae, who crinkled his nose.

“Do you have something to say?” Chanyeol asked teasingly. Jongdae fixed him with a glare.

“Actually, I do. I was going to see if you both wanted to come to dinner with me and Minseok, but that invitation is being revoked since you two can’t keep your fucking hands off each other.”

“We’re not even doing anything—”

“We would’ve declined anyway.” Baekhyun cut in smoothly, turning Chanyeol towards the doors. “You need this time with your crush.”

“He’s not my crush.” Jongdae defended quickly. “I just really, _really_ wanna fuck him.”

“On a regular basis,” Baekhyun added. “There’s no shame in feelings, ‘Dae.”

“I’ll fuck him first and make up my mind later.” Jongdae shrugged. “Now _shoo._ Go be in love somewhere else.”

“Jongdae has a crush, huh?” Chanyeol asked as he fished his keys out of his pocket, leading Baekhyun over to where he’d parked.

“He won’t admit it.” Baekhyun let out a frustrated sound. “But he _does_ , I just know it.”

“Give him time to come to terms with it. You needed time, and look how great we’ve turned out.” Chanyeol kissed his forehead and then let go, and Baekhyun wandered around to the passenger side of the car and climbed in.

“I guess you’re right.” Baekhyun stripped out of his suit jacket and draped his over his thighs, holding Chanyeol’s hand the whole drive home.

“Do you want to shower first?” Chanyeol asked as he tossed his keys in the bowl by the door and toed out of his shoes.

“No, you can go.” Baekhyun draped his suit jacket over the arm of the couch.

“Okay.” Chanyeol dropped a kiss to the side of his boyfriend’s head as he passed and entered his bedroom, exiting a minute later with new clothes in his hand and entering the bathroom. He shut the door and a minute later the shower started.

Baekhyun let out a breath and unbuttoned his shirt slowly as he walked down the hall and entered Chanyeol’s bedroom. He stripped out of the tight fabric and tossed it back on his overnight bag and had just pulled off his belt when Chanyeol’s voice called for him through the small apartment.

“Baek?”

“Yeah?” Baekhyun walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door. “What’s up?”

“I forgot to grab the towels out of the living room, can you go get me one?”

Baekhyun knocked on the door again and then walked to the living room, picking up the small stack of newly-washed towels off the kitchen counter and walking back. Chanyeol had unlocked the bathroom door, and Baekhyun pushed it open and walked into the steamy room.

“They’re on the counter,” Baekhyun told him as he set them down by the sink.

“Thanks, babe.”

Baekhyun looked at himself in the foggy mirror, Jongdae’s words ringing through his ears after his and Chanyeol’s conversation. _“He’s a gentleman. He’ll wait for you._ You _have to be assertive, here.”_

He let out a breath—be _assertive—_ and undid his slacks, pushing them and his briefs down his legs.

_Be assertive._

“Hey, ‘Yeol?”

“You’re still in here?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun cleared his throat and stepped out of his clothes, leaving himself completely bare with a heavy pounding in his chest. “Can I, uh, join you?”

“What?”

Baekhyun pushed the shower curtain aside and stepped into the tub, one hand on the cold tile wall. He whisked the curtain shut behind him and Chanyeol turned around, facing away from the spray and looking down at his boyfriend.

“Oh.”

“Is this okay?” Baekhyun ran both hands through his hair, brushing it back off his forehead, eyes trained sharply on Chanyeol’s face.

“Yeah.” Chanyeol reached out and took Baekhyun’s hands, pulling him forward and switching their positions so the pianist was now under the warm spray. “Yeah, this works.”

Baekhyun cleared his throat and tilted his chin up, watching Chanyeol who had his eyes trained on his own damp hand which ran through Baekhyun’s hair and left a wet trail in the soft strands. His hand curled around and brushed the back of his neck on its way around to cup his cheek. Chanyeol took a small step forward and met his boyfriend’s eyes.

“Why do I have the feeling you’re not in here for a shower?” He murmured softly.

“Because you’re smarter than that,” Baekhyun responded with a smile. “What do you say?”

“Tonight, Baek? Are you sure?”

“Did you plan something else?”

“Not in depth, no.” Chanyeol shook his head and used the hand on Baekhyun’s cheek to tilt his head slightly, lowering his own at the same time. “I just figured you’d be tired after your performance, and wouldn’t want to do anything else other than shower and maybe watch a movie.”

“Well, we can still do all that.” Baekhyun raised both of his hands and placed them on either of Chanyeol’s hips, biting his bottom lip. He released it slowly. “Just, you know, _later.”_

“Later.” Chanyeol chuckled. “Sure.”

“Is this okay?” Baekhyun asked, suddenly unsure. “Oh, fuck, am I—did I read something wrong? Did I just totally annihilate my chance to—”

“Stop.” Chanyeol pressed a short, hard kiss to Baekhyun’s lips to shut him up. He pulled away quickly, though he kept his head low and he breathed the next words so that the hot air ghosted over Baekhyun’s lips. “Just say yes. Tell me what you want so I know I’m on the same page as you, one hundred percent.”

“You are.” Baekhyun insisted. He leaned forward only to whine in dismay when Chanyeol leaned back.

“I need you to say it, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol shook his head. “Please, just say it.”

“I—um,” Baekhyun took a breath, shut his eyes, and reopened them when all the air was expelled. “I want to have sex with you. Now, you know, if that’s okay.”

“It’s better than okay,” Chanyeol muttered before leaning forward and capturing Baekhyun’s lips again. The kiss this time was harder, and longer, and the force had Baekhyun bending backward a bit—relying on Chanyeol’s arm hooked around his lower back to keep him upright.

Something that Baekhyun discovered very quickly as something they _both_ immensely enjoyed was the way Baekhyun ran his slim, delicate fingers all along Chanyeol’s chest and shoulders, tracing the thick black lines all over. Baekhyun did that now, the move somehow dirtier with the slickness of wet skin and Chanyeol let out a low groan at the feather-light touches on his chest, skimming up his stomach and around his nipples before climbing higher and coming to rest circled around the back of his neck.

Baekhyun relaxed and parted his lips when Chanyeol prodded lightly at them with his tongue, sighing softly as Chanyeol licked into his mouth. His movements were gentle and slow, even though they’d certainly made out much more intensely before—obviously holding to his word that they’d go nice and slow tonight for Baekhyun’s sake.

Baekhyun quickly began growing impatient, though, and pushed himself closer—specifically, pushed his _hips_ closer, pressing himself into Chanyeol and feeling his half-hard cock poke against his stomach. He let out a moan at the feeling—he’d never felt Chanyeol like _this_ before—and pressed harder against him, eager to feel it again.

Chanyeol panted heavily and dropped his lips to kiss down Baekhyun’s neck until he reached the area right above where his shoulder met his neck and he opened his mouth wider, wrapping his lips over a section of skin and sucking. Baekhyun shivered and his head fell back, hands falling to grip onto Chanyeol’s shoulders as his boyfriend worked a mark into his neck. He let out a soft, breathy sound when the sharp pain dulled, and Chanyeol pulled away to lick over the darkening patch for a moment before skimming his nose up the exposed bumpy column of Baekhyun’s throat.

He kissed Baekhyun again who mewled and arched up, gasping when their cocks rubbed against each other.

“Still wanna do this?” Chanyeol double checked in a soft whisper, hand coming up to cup Baekhyun’s cheek and thumb comfortingly over the sharp bone.

“Yeah.” Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol into a short kiss. “I do.” He kissed the underside of his jaw. “I really, really do.”

“Okay.” Chanyeol pecked his cheek softly and then reached around him to turn the water off. “Careful getting out, then.”

Chanyeol stepped over the ridge of the tub and took Baekhyun’s hand, helping him over to keep him from slipping and then handing him a towel.

“Dry off and head to my room. I need to go grab something and then I’ll meet you in there.” Baekhyun nodded and Chanyeol pressed one more kiss to his lips before grabbing another towel and pulling the bathroom door open, walking out of it and heading towards the living room while drying off his arms. Baekhyun blinked a few times—distracted from his own task by the broad shoulders and strong back, hard muscles rippling and covered by gorgeously tanned skin and dark tattoos.

Baekhyun dried off quickly and then wrapped his towel around his waist, holding the knot with one hand as he made his way to Chanyeol’s room. He really wasn’t _completely_ terrified, as he was surprised enough to discover upon entering the bedroom. He didn’t know what to do, and sure his heart was pounding, but he trusted Chanyeol a _lot_ , and that helped keep him from completely freaking out.

The pianist wasn’t really sure what Chanyeol wanted him to do, so to keep his anxious mannerisms at bay he wandered around the room, coming to a stop in front of Chanyeol’s small desk and a picture of his tall boyfriend was standing between two women, arms draped over their shoulders and identical smiles on all their faces.

He picked the picture frame up and held it closer, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he looked at the closeness between the three of them, their adoration for each other obvious even in the small 4x6 piece of glossed paper. A pair of warm arms circled his waist and Baekhyun leaned back into the chest of hard muscle covered by soft skin, comfortable.

“That’s my mom,” Chanyeol lifted his left hand and pointed at the woman on the left, “and my sister.”

“Oh.” Baekhyun nodded a couple times. Chanyeol gently took the frame out of his hands and set it face-down on his desk.

“Still good?”

“I’m nervous,” Baekhyun admitted softly. Chanyeol dropped a kiss to his shoulder and kept his lips against the warm skin while Baekhyun continued. “But I’m okay.”

“Okay.” Chanyeol kissed his cheek and unwound from his boyfriend. Baekhyun turned around and Chanyeol smiled gently down at him, taking his hand. “Come here.”

Baekhyun let out a slow breath and followed Chanyeol to the bed, coming to a stop by the foot of it when Chanyeol tugged on his hand again. He took the pianist’s face in his hands and kissed him. His own towel was slung loosely over his shoulders and Baekhyun was grateful for it, for he fisted the fabric as Chanyeol’s hands skimmed lightly down his sides, coming to rest at the towel still low around his hips.

“Can I…?”

Baekhyun bit his bottom lip and nodded, unable to meet Chanyeol’s eyes so instead he looked up at the strange-colored off-white something ceiling as Chanyeol unknotted his towel. He sucked in a breath when it fell to the ground and Chanyeol pressed kisses up his neck and under his jaw.

“You’re beautiful, baby.” Chanyeol murmured into the skin. “Hey, look at me.”

Baekhyun swallowed once and blinked a couple times, lowering his chin to meet Chanyeol’s eyes. His tall boyfriend smiled warmly down at him.

“Keep talking to me, okay? Let me know if anything hurts, or if you want me to slow down or want to stop all together. I won’t be mad, baby, I promise. I just want you to be comfortable.”

Baekhyun pushed Chanyeol’s towel off his shoulders and cupped his cheeks, nodded with a soft “I will,” and then kissed Chanyeol.

Chanyeol dropped a hand between them and fisted Baekhyun’s cock, thumbing over the tip softly just to feel Baekhyun twitch in his hand, hips jerking with each pass of his thumb. His palm was warm on Baekhyun’s cheek, thumb brushing the tender skin just in front of his ear while his fingers curved comfortingly around the back of his neck.

Baekhyun let out a soft moan and dropped his hands, dragging his fingertips down his boyfriend’s chest and digging his fingernails in, leaving sharp red lines which brightened among the tan skin and black ink. Chanyeol hissed and bit down on Baekhyun’s bottom lip, pulling back and dragging it through his teeth.

He stepped around and sat down on the bed, taking a hold of Baekhyun’s hips and guiding him to sit in his lap when he approached, taking the hint.

This was good.

Baekhyun knew this—they’d both come like this before—it was safe, and comfortable, and while Baekhyun knew this wasn’t how they’d be spending the night the familiarity of this position was calming. Chanyeol wrapped a warm, steady arm around Baekhyun’s back and held him close, kissing him again as he slowly inched back on the bed.

Baekhyun dropped his head to mouth along Chanyeol’s neck, licking over a koi and down a line of song lyrics as Chanyeol reached the center of the bed, and he let out a long breath as he laid the two of them back with both hands on Baekhyun’s waist.

Chanyeol tangled one hand in Baekhyun’s hair as the pianist took some skin just below his collarbone between his teeth and sucked. A hickey—something else he could do and was comfortable with.

When he was finished and licking over the bruise—gorgeous red and purple under the black ink—Chanyeol gently cupped the back of his neck and pulled him back up to kiss him again, this time shifting to the right and rolling them over, switching their positions. His hands were soft and gentle and Baekhyun wasn’t startled at all when his back hit the comforter. Instead, instinctively, Baekhyun let his legs widen a bit and Chanyeol pressed between them.

Baekhyun let out a quiet, surprised sound when he felt Chanyeol’s cock slide beside his own, and he moaned when they brushed again.

“Good?” Chanyeol managed to pull back and look down, only to choke on a groan and drop his head when Baekhyun bucked his hips up, initiating the contact himself. “Baby—”

“More.” Baekhyun breathed out. “Do that again.”

Chanyeol was quick to comply, grinding his hips down until they both had a steady rhythm built, panting together and getting fully worked up until Baekhyun reached up and splayed his hand flat on Chanyeol’s chest, stopping him.

“Wait.” He said frantically. “Fuck, wait, _wait.”_

“What?” Chanyeol stopped immediately and dropped to his elbows, nuzzling his nose under Baekhyun’s jaw. “Too much?”

“No.” Baekhyun took a moment and closed his eyes, wrapping both his arms around the back of Chanyeol’s neck and pulling him all the way down. “I’m good. I think I was getting close, though, and I don’t want to finish too early.”

Chanyeol pressed a kiss to his damp neck, trailing them up and over his jaw to press a soft kiss to his lips. “Okay. Still wanna keep going?”

“Still wanna keep going.” Baekhyun nodded, and Chanyeol gave him another kiss and then sat up, shifting over for a second to grab a bottle and a small silver package off the nightstand. Baekhyun felt his breath hitch when he did and swallowed, looking away from his boyfriend and back up at the ceiling.

“Hey, you okay?” Chanyeol rolled over so he was lying between Baekhyun’s legs again, both hands up and cupping his cheeks.

“Just nervous,” Baekhyun said again. He covered both of Chanyeol’s hands with his own.

“If you don’t want this, we don’t have to.” Chanyeol reminded him softly. “Just let me know.”

“I want this.” Baekhyun met his boyfriend’s eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s just—it’s normal to be nervous, right?”

“It is.” Chanyeol bent to press a soft kiss to Baekhyun’s lips. “And that’s okay. As long as you’re nervous for the obvious reason, and not nervous because this isn’t what you want.”

“I want this,” Baekhyun repeated, voice unwavering. “With you. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Chanyeol smiled down at him. “Can you turn over? It’ll be more comfortable for you on your stomach.”

“Yeah.” Chanyeol sat back and helped Baekhyun roll over, slipping one of his pillows under his hips. “Okay.”

“Comfy?”

Baekhyun turned his head to the side. Chanyeol was leaning on his elbow, looking down at him and he brushed his sweaty hair off of his forehead. He nodded, cheek brushing against the comforter. “I’m good.”

“Okay.” Chanyeol sat back and picked the bottle up. Baekhyun took a deep breath when it popped open.

“Go slow?”

“I’ll go as slow as you want me to,” Chanyeol promised. He bent down and pressed a kiss to Baekhyun’s back, right between his shoulder blades and then trailed his lips down his spine and the curve of his back and Baekhyun took in another breath when he felt one of Chanyeol’s hands brush over his left cheek.

“I need you to relax for me, Baek.” Chanyeol squeezed a large amount of lube onto his fingers and, after warning Baekhyun that it was going to be cold, began spreading it all around his hole, trying to put as much in as possible. “I’ve got you, you’re okay. Just take a deep breath and relax.”

Baekhyun let out his breath right as Chanyeol started slipping his first finger in, cold and slick with lube.

“Baek?” Chanyeol paused a little under halfway. “Still good?”

“Good.” Baekhyun swallowed. “Keep going.”

Baekhyun breathed out sharply through his nose when Chanyeol’s finger was all the way in, fisting the comforter. It wasn’t _bad_ , and it didn’t hurt—it was just a bit strange, that’s all. Chanyeol shifted so he was sitting on the back of Baekhyun’s thighs and kept his finger still, letting his boyfriend get used to the sensation while his other hand ran in slow circles along the outside of his left thigh. A few minutes later, when Chanyeol felt Baekhyun relax around him he slowly pulled his finger out, pushing it back in smoothly as he felt Baekhyun continue to loosen up and twisting a bit.

“I’m going to add another,” Chanyeol leaned down and pressed a kiss to the back of Baekhyun’s right shoulder. “Okay?”

“Okay.” Baekhyun turned his head and Chanyeol pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips.

“Breathe, Baek.” Chanyeol put one warm hand in the dip of Baekhyun’s lower back and held him down as he pulled the one finger out, maneuvered more lube onto his fore and middle fingers, and then slowly began to push them both back in.

 _“Fuck,”_ Baekhyun dropped his forehead against the bed and fisted the comforter in his hands. “Oh _shit.”_

“Does it hurt?” Chanyeol paused when he had about an inch left.

“A bit.” Baekhyun took a shaky breath. “Keep going.”

Chanyeol paused when his fingers were as far in as they could go and the hand that was on Baekhyun’s back began rubbing in soft circles.

“Keep breathing, baby,” Chanyeol broke out the nickname in an attempt to get Baekhyun to relax a bit. Baekhyun was doing the thing he always did when he was nervous—taking short shallow breaths and tensing up. Chanyeol wanted him to calm down a bit, to let him know that he was okay. Chanyeol was here, he’d take care of him.

“I’m good,” he said softly a few moments later. Chanyeol felt the muscles relax around his fingers as he slowly twisted them around, getting Baekhyun’s walls to loosen up completely and hit all the angles with the width of his fingers.

Chanyeol moved his other hand to the side, wrapping it around Baekhyun’s hip and rubbing his thumb in small circles as he began thrusting his fingers in and out. He spread them apart every few thrusts, gently scissoring Baekhyun open to prep him for the next finger.

“I’m gonna add one more.” Chanyeol withdrew his fingers and grabbed the lube again, adding more and spreading it over all three of his fingers. “Ready?”

Baekhyun let out a slow breath and shut his eyes. “Yeah.”

He bit his bottom lip and furrowed his brows when Chanyeol began sliding all three of his fingers in, tightening his grip on the comforter so that his knuckles were white.

“Baek?” Chanyeol paused again, bending forward to kiss the back of Baekhyun’s neck right on his spine. “Baby, hey, are you okay?”

“Fine.” Baekhyun choked. “Keep going.”

“Are you sure—”

“I’m fine,” Baekhyun repeated. “Please, just—just keep going.”

Chanyeol kissed his neck once more and then straightened up, being careful to go slow and not change the angle of his fingers as he pushed them in.

“Are they in?” Baekhyun asked when he felt Chanyeol stop moving.

“They’re all the way in,” Chanyeol confirmed. “You’re doing great, Baek.” Chanyeol pressed a kiss to the back of Baekhyun’s thigh and dragged his lips up and over the curve of his ass, biting lightly onto the skin in the dip of his back. “So, so good. Really. How are you feeling?”

“I don’t really…” Baekhyun shifted his head to the other side and found Chanyeol watching him sharply out of the corner of his eyes. “Full. Tight?” He let out a breath. “It hurts a little. Can you give me a minute?”

“As long as you need,” Chanyeol promised softly. He shifted up, doing his best to keep his fingers still and rubbed smooth circles on Baekhyun’s back, just barely skimming the skin with his fingertips the way he knew his boyfriend liked it.

“Okay.” Baekhyun murmured a minute later.

“Okay?”

“You can move.” Chanyeol leaned forward and planted his left arm next to Baekhyun’s shoulder, and his boyfriend’s hand came up to hold his wrist now that it was within grabbing distance. Chanyeol laid down on his side next to Baekhyun, kissing his forehead and the side of his head and his cheek and his neck as he slowly began pumping his three fingers in and out of the pianist.

Baekhyun let out a soft whimper and tightened his hold on Chanyeol’s wrist, listening to Chanyeol’s gentle murmuring and relaxing, waiting for the moment when it would stop hurting and feel _good._ Now it was still just uncomfortable.

That moment came when Chanyeol adjusted his angle slightly and brushed against _something_ that had Baekhyun jolting and instinctively grinding his hips down into the pillow.

“Fuck,” Baekhyun gasped out, “fuck, do that again.”

Chanyeol bit down on Baekhyun’s shoulder when he repeated his motion, and this time Baekhyun let out a soft moan and buried his head in the comforter, slightly embarrassed at his reaction but finally feeling good nonetheless.

“Did that feel good?” Chanyeol’s tone was teasing and Baekhyun groaned in annoyance.

“Shut _up.”_

Chanyeol pulled his fingers out and wiped them on the comforter before grabbing Baekhyun’s waist and helping him turn over, tossing the pillow clean off the bed. Baekhyun returned his eyes to the ceiling, focusing on calming his breathing and his erratic heartbeat as he heard the crinkle of a metallic wrapper and then the bottle of lube was cracked open again.

“Hey.” Chanyeol slipped between Baekhyun’s legs again and settled on his elbows just above Baekhyun’s shoulders. “You good?”

“I’m great.” Baekhyun corrected him. He wrapped both hands around the back of Chanyeol’s neck and pulled him down for a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Chanyeol smiled into their next kiss and then pulled back and shifted all his weight onto his left elbow. “Ready?”

Baekhyun let out a breath and nodded. Chanyeol brought his right hand down to take his cock and slowly guided it towards Baekhyun, pausing only an inch or so away.

“Hey, keep talking to me, okay? Whatever you need let me know and I’ll listen, I promise.”

Baekhyun didn’t trust himself to respond, so he simply nodded again.

He let out a sharp gasp when Chanyeol first pushed in, a bit at a time, fingers digging into his boyfriend’s back hard enough that he hissed. He let his eyes shut and took a few quick breaths, trying to force himself to welcome the new sensation and _relax_. Chanyeol kept going, dropping his head to kiss Baekhyun’s shoulder softly as he continued to fill him.

Baekhyun went to let out a groan that somehow got caught in his throat and he ended up just squeaking, hands shifting up to hook over Chanyeol’s shoulders and pull him close. Chanyeol let out a low groan in response, drawn out by Baekhyun’s fingernails digging into the tops of his shoulders and leaving little indents in the black ink, red marks between the lines where his skin was tan and bare.

“Can you—fuck, can you slow down a bit?”

It was hard for Chanyeol to comply. Part of him wanted to be selfish—Baekhyun was tight, and warm, and _fuck_ he felt so good around Chanyeol like that. His dick throbbed, wanting nothing more than to fuck into that heat until he came. But, like he’d promised, he paused when he was a little over halfway inside, keeping his weight on his elbows still propped up by Baekhyun’s shoulders and dropped his head to lick and kiss at his neck, trying to distract him from the obvious pain written all over his face.

“Breathe, baby.” Chanyeol murmured once again. “I’ve got you.”

Baekhyun whimpered and let out a shaky breath. “Fuck, you’re so big.”

Chanyeol couldn’t help the smirk that took over his lips, hiding his face in Baekhyun’s neck and he _knew_ his boyfriend could feel the expression on his face. It really wasn’t the time to focus on that—but the compliment still felt great, and his ego inflated a bit.

“Shouldn’t you say thank you or something?” Baekhyun murmured. His grip on Chanyeol’s shoulders relaxed a bit.

“Should I?” Chanyeol pushed up and looked at Baekhyun with a smile, brushing his hair out of his face.

“You _should.”_ Baekhyun snapped back, pretending to be annoyed. Chanyeol knew he wasn’t. “And you can, uh, keep going now.”

Chanyeol pressed a soft kiss to his lips before continuing to push in, slowly in case Baekhyun needed him to stop again. Baekhyun’s eyes screwed shut again but he stayed silent, minus the short breaths and whimpers, finally letting out a long sigh when Chanyeol bent down to press a kiss to his nose and murmur that he was all in.

“Can you just…” Baekhyun broke off and swallowed nervously.

“Take your time, Baek.” Chanyeol smiled down at him and nodded once. “You’re doing great, really.”

Chanyeol choked on his own words when Baekhyun inadvertently clenched around him and he dropped to hide his head in the crook of the pianist’s neck, sucking in a sharp breath and clenching his fists.

“Are you okay?” The pitch of Baekhyun’s voice jumped up a bit in a panic at Chanyeol’s sudden desperation to gather himself. “Chanyeol?”

“I’m good, baby,” Chanyeol said softly after taking a few deep breaths. He peppered the side of Baekhyun’s neck in sweet kisses. “That felt good, that’s all.”

“What did?”

“You tightened around me for a second,” Chanyeol explained briefly. “It’s okay, it felt good. Really good.”

“It did?” Baekhyun grabbed Chanyeol’s face in his hands and pulled him up so he could see him. “This?”

He clenched again, on purpose this time, and Chanyeol’s eyes shut as he let out a low, drawn out groan. “Baby…”

“I’m good now.” Baekhyun interrupted him softly.

“Good?”

“You can move.” He clarified softly. Chanyeol leaned down and pressed a deep kiss to his lips before he did anything, following it with another short little peck.

“I love you.” Chanyeol murmured against his lips. Baekhyun pulled him down for one more kiss.

“I love you too.” His hands fell to Chanyeol’s waist and then to the bed as the redhead sat up, large hands holding comfortingly to Baekhyun’s upper thighs as he pulled out slightly and then pushed back in.

Baekhyun fisted the comforter below him with both hands, letting out soft whimpers and short breathy grunts each time Chanyeol pushed back in. As he continued on, though, and pulled out further only to push himself deeper moans and sighs of pleasure began making their way out of Baekhyun’s lips.

Baekhyun lifted one arm to grab at the section of the comforter up by his head, breathing ragged as Chanyeol bent his head down to mouth at his neck again.

“You—you feel so good.” Baekhyun choked out. “Shit, Chanyeol, holy s-shit.”

“You’re so fucking tight,” Chanyeol grunted in response. One of his hands grabbed Baekhyun’s that was by his head and flipped it over, intertwining their fingers and pressing Baekhyun’s hand further into the comforter. “God, I’m not gonna last long, _fuck.”_

Baekhyun let out a full, drawn-out moan when Chanyeol pulled out as far as he could without pulling out completely and slammed back in so hard his balls clapped against Baekhyun’s ass, arching his back. His dick brushed against the pianist’s prostate, and he clenched Chanyeol’s hand tighter.

“Again,” he gasped out. “There, again, _please_ Chanyeol.”

“Here?” Chanyeol shifted his legs and changed his angle and managed to hit Baekhyun’s prostate head-on. His boyfriend let out a cry and keened up, thrusting his chest into Chanyeol’s. “Found it.”

Baekhyun wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, he just let his body do whatever it wanted to, and that’s how he found his legs wrapped around Chanyeol’s waist with one hand still clutching to Chanyeol’s like it was a lifeline while the other one lifted to his chest, feeling the pounding of his heart as well as the dampness of his skin.

“Chanyeol, I—” Baekhyun choked on an unsteady inhale. “I think I’m close, _shit_ —I don’t know, I—” He broke off with another moan, throwing his head as far back into the mattress as he could.

“It’s okay, Baek,” Chanyeol said between pants. He dropped onto his elbows and Baekhyun’s hand that was on his chest wrapped around his back and hooked over his shoulder. “Let it go, don’t force yourself.”

Baekhyun gasped out a final “oh god, Chanyeol—” and then he was coming hotly onto both of their chests, gripping onto Chanyeol’s hand with everything he had while his other hand dug sharply into Chanyeol’s shoulder, hips jerking uncontrollably for a minute as Chanyeol kept going, pushing him through the aftershocks. He couldn’t help when he came in the condom only seconds later—the intensity and clenching of Baekhyun’s first truly sexual orgasm proving too much for him no matter his experience and his own hips stilled as he buried his face in the crook of Baekhyun’s neck and groaned.

Baekhyun took a few shaky breaths and refused to release Chanyeol’s hand, who squeezed back comfortingly and littered his neck with kisses, trailing them up below his ear and along his jaw before finally pecking his lips.

Baekhyun tasted sweet, as he always did, but slightly salty with sweat, and Chanyeol used his free hand to first brush through Baekhyun’s damp hair to get his bangs off of his forehead and then cupped his cheek, thumbing over his cheekbone lightly as his dick softened and then he pulled out.

“I love you.” Baekhyun breathed out softly when Chanyeol pulled back—an inch, maximum, between their lips as they both needed a moment to catch their breath. He tangled his hand in Chanyeol’s hair at the back of his head and pulled him down so their foreheads were pressed together, ignoring the stickiness of their sweat mixing in favor of being as close to Chanyeol as he possibly could.

“I love you too.” Chanyeol bopped their noses together with a smile. “So much. Really, it’s amazing. _You’re_ amazing.”

“Not as much as you,” Baekhyun responded softly. Chanyeol simply shook his head.

“That’s _false.”_ He kissed Baekhyun once more and then sat up, carefully pulling off the condom so as to not make too much more of a mess than there already was and tying it off. He slid off the bed in search of the trash can while Baekhyun just laid there, boneless, exhausted, and so, so happy. God, he just—he loved Chanyeol so fucking _much_.

“Baby?” Chanyeol leaned on the bed and smiled when Baekhyun’s eyes locked on his, a smile on his own face. “Hey, wanna shower?”

Baekhyun hummed, pretending to mull it over. “Can we shower together?”

“As long as you promise to keep your hands to yourself this time.” Chanyeol shot back cheekily.

“I don’t remember you complaining.” Baekhyun pushed up onto his elbows, eyes crinkling with how wide he was smiling.

“That’s because I wasn’t. I could never.” Chanyeol leaned down and kissed Baekhyun again, softly and deeply. His tongue darted into Baekhyun’s mouth and Baekhyun opened the inside of his mouth, welcoming Chanyeol’s tongue and letting it lick all over.

“And you’re accusing _me_ of not keeping my hands to myself.”

“Come on.” Chanyeol slipped one hand behind Baekhyun’s back and the other underneath his knees and lifted with a soft grunt, and Baekhyun let out a surprised shriek and wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s neck.

“Fuck you.” He whined, hitting his _annoying_ boyfriend’s chest.

“Somehow I have a feeling that’s been done. Not that I’d be complaining if you wanted another round—”

“Shut up.” Baekhyun’s neck and ears turned pink and he slapped a hand over Chanyeol’s mouth. “Just—stop talking.” He shrieked again when Chanyeol licked his hand, wiping it childishly on his chest as Chanyeol deposited him carefully on the bathroom counter.

He disappeared for just long enough to turn on the shower and then slipped between Baekhyun’s legs, hands returning to his hips and kissing him softly again. Baekhyun wrapped his own hands around the back of Chanyeol’s neck and smiled as they continued to kiss, loving every second of this night.

They continued sneaking little kisses in through the whole shower—Baekhyun made good on his promise to keep his hands to himself and Chanyeol did the same (for the most part). They then hopped out and got dressed—Baekhyun borrowed a too-small pair of Chanyeol’s briefs, one of his t-shirts, _and_ one of his sweatshirts while Chanyeol donned a plain t-shirt and sweatpants—and then pulled a half-eaten gallon of chocolate ice cream out of the freezer, foregoing the bowls and simply bringing two spoons with them to the couch.

Like he always did, Baekhyun settled between Chanyeol’s legs and against his chest with one of Chanyeol’s hands on his waist under his sweatshirt and a blanket in his lap and covering both of their lower bodies, already digging into the ice cream as Chanyeol held the remote and flipped through the channels on the tv for something for them to watch.

“Oh, go back,” Baekhyun spoke around the cold ice cream in his mouth. “There!”

“The Office?”

“What?” Baekhyun turned around and met Chanyeol’s amused eyes. “It’s a good show!”

“Whatever you want, baby.” Chanyeol chuckled and pressed a kiss to Baekhyun’s forehead before dropping the remote and grabbing the other spoon. He took a scoop of ice cream and hummed in contentment as he licked it off the spoon, rubbing small circles into Baekhyun’s waist with his other hand.

They finished the ice cream and got through two and a half episodes when Chanyeol noticed Baekhyun’s eyes blinking slowly in the way they did when he was tired but trying to keep from falling asleep—where each time his eyes shut they stayed for a few seconds before he forced them back open and blinked rapidly a couple times in a lame attempt to wake himself back up.

Chanyeol cut off the tv and decided to leave the empty ice cream container and spoons for the morning, chuckling when he heard Baekhyun’s whine of protest when he slid out from under him.

“Come back,” the pianist slurred sleepily, reaching up with one hand in a childish grabby motion. “’Yeol.”

“Let’s go to bed, yeah?” Chanyeol lifted Baekhyun and carried him down the short hall to his bedroom much like he had earlier, kissing his forehead when Baekhyun rolled over and buried his nose in his chest.

Baekhyun automatically laid his head on Chanyeol’s chest when his boyfriend slipped into bed next to him, having finished his pass to turn the lights off and shut the bedroom door. Chanyeol’s hand automatically brushed through his hair as he arranged the comforter over them and kissed Baekhyun’s forehead again.

“Hey.” Baekhyun propped his chin on Chanyeol’s chest.

“Hm?” Chanyeol’s hand never ceased. Baekhyun smiled.

“I love you.”

Chanyeol broke into a grin and bit down on his bottom lip. “I love you too.”

Baekhyun pushed up to give him one more lingering kiss and then settled back on his chest, letting Chanyeol’s thick fingers running through his hair lull him the rest of the way to sleep.

 

* * *

 

“How was he?”

 _“Shit.”_ Baekhyun slammed his locker door shut in surprise, tightening his grip on his music books and notebook to keep them from scattering on the ground. “Jongdae, fuck you.”

“I don’t think Chanyeol would be too happy about that.”

The next morning Baekhyun had shot Jongdae a quick text, saying that they’d finally done it and his idea had worked. He was responded to with a shit ton of emoji’s including, but not limited to, eggplants, pointer fingers and “okay” symbols. He put “do not disturb” next to Jongdae’s name after that.

“Shut up.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes and shoved past his friend, heading for the practice room upstairs.

“Okay, but really,” Jongdae fell in step with him. “How was it?”

“It was…” The two nodded to the orchestral director in passing as they turned a corner. “It was great. _He_ was great.”

“He took it slow?”

“Super slow, but not _too_ slow.” Baekhyun nodded with a faint smile on his lips. “He kept checking in on me to make sure I was okay, which was nice. Sweet.”

Jongdae nodded in approval and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “And is he big?”

_“Jongdae.”_

“It’s a perfectly reasonable question!” Jongdae raised both hands next to his head in a position of surrender. “Come on, spill.”

“I don’t really have anything to compare it to, but, I mean, he felt big.” Baekhyun cleared his throat awkwardly as they began climbing the stairs to the second floor.

“I’ve seen his not-so-little bulge in his jeans—”

_“Jongdae!”_

“—I’d say he’s gotta be pretty big.” He finished with a nod. Baekhyun looked horrified.

“Right.” He nodded stiffly. “Well, I’m gonna go, you know, practice and all.” Baekhyun pushed the door to one of the piano practice rooms open and backed in, eyeing Jongdae warily. “Any more questions?”

“Just one.”

Baekhyun nodded for him to continue.

“How much does your ass hurt?”

_“Get out!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is something i've been wanting to write for a while, and it's been it the works for a couple weeks. i'm glad i'm finally getting to post it! i really wanted to take my time and get this right with both of their characterizations and emotions and reactions and things, and i hope i conveyed it the way i wanted to.
> 
> thank you for reading and hopefully enjoying this second chapter of pure smut and love from our two favorite college boys (and jongdae...that one friend everyone has and no one will admit they love)
> 
> as always, comments and kudos are appreciated, each one swells my heart and i love you all <3

**Author's Note:**

> so feel free to leave kudos or comment if you enjoyed this! I have lots and lots of things in the works along with a couple series (check them out!) which are my priority atm. One is also a college!au, but very, very different from this one (those of y'all who have read it know what I'm talking about ;) ).
> 
> and to my friend who proofreads all my stuff and literally forced me to finish this, if you see this, thanks dood ily :)
> 
> anyway, thanks for at least getting all the way through this shit! props to you!
> 
> come say hi to me on twitter!! [loeysxdaisies](https://twitter.com/loeysxdaises)
> 
> curious cat for those of you shy little beans (i'd still love hear from you!) [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/loeysxdaisies)


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